More Than Half
by Michael Fetter
Summary: Ranma/NGE/AMG - Recently, Ranma has been gaining power faster than expected and it has caught the attention of a government orginization set on defending the world from Angels.


Disclaimer: This story is a compilation of some of my favorite manga and anime. I don't own any of these characters. This story is intended for free and simple enjoyment of anyone interested in reading this. It uses characters and situations ranging from Ranma ½, Evangelion, Sailor Moon, and Ah, My Goddess!. Enjoy the story. If you would like to send criticism, compliments, questions, or have an interest in tae kwon do, email me at: jehtek@hotmail.com. 

Once again, enjoy the story.

KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!-chestnut punch

Mouko Takabisha-ki blast

BAKUSAI TENKETSU!-breaking point

KIJIN RAISHUU DAN-vacuum ki blast

Hiryu Shouten Ha - cold attack for tornado, Rising Dragon Ascension

defeat

MOUKO KAIMON HA-ki charge kick

RENSHA-HAPPA-DAN-build MT then using KTA, shoot hundreds of blasts

****

Ranma, More than Half

By Michael Fetter

It was a new day at Furikan High School and as such a large group of boys had formed at its gates, waiting for the arrival of Tendo Akane. This was nothing new to her. Ever since high school had started, the idiot Kuno decided no one could date her until they beat her in combat. That suited Akane just fine, though. None of the hormonal boys could beat her and she relished pounding the jerks into the pavement.

Akane stood across the street from the congregation with her sister. She wore the usual girl's school outfit and a cute crinkle on her nose to indicate she was angry. Her long black hair fluttered in the wind, held together by a yellow ribbon. All she needed was tumbleweed to roll by and she would feel like the hero in an old western movie.

"Could you hold this for me sis?" Akane handed Nabiki her backpack and got herself into a ready stance. Nabiki sighed and rolled her eyes, but took the backpack and preceded her little sister into the school. She had to check that her underlings had today's betting pool set up, after all. 

In unison, the boys charged the lone girl, screaming a war cry that sounded much like praises to her beauty and requests for a date. Akane roared in anger and rushed the boys. 

Everything fell silent. 

I must be getting good at this, Akane thought. I must've scared them silly! Akane was still screaming but stopped just short of hitting her first opponent when she realized he wasn't even taking notice of her anymore. There was something wrong she decided. Looking around, none of the boys were looking at her. Instead they were focusing on something behind her, some had even started drooling.

"What the hell?" Not that Akane minded having the fan club not attack her, but this was definitely weird. By their glazed over expressions, she decided it was safe to turn around and see what they were staring at.

The sun was slightly above the horizon, being early morning, and there were very few clouds to block out its glare. This didn't change the fact that a very attractive red head was walking along the opposite side of the street, seemingly emanating a light all her own. She had a slight yet very well developed body. Her clothes seemed to be Chinese and a little too big for her frame, but it drew tightly across her chest, accentuating her curves and adding to her beauty. She was carrying a rather large pack with a heavy bamboo umbrella strapped to the top. The red head was still walking, minding her own business, until the silence sent off alarms inside her head. Cautiously, she turned her head and stopped walking. Fear was gripping her chest when she saw an entire assembly of salivating schoolboys looking at her. 

They charged again.

The red head had only just come to grips with the situation when the boys suddenly swarmed her. 

"Shit!" Akane could take on the swarm, but then she was also the best martial artist in all of Nerima. This new girl didn't look like she could crush a flower without help. "I've got to help her!" Akane started to dive into the pack when the collar of her dress suddenly choked her. Nabiki was holding onto her, staring intently at the fight.

"Why'd you do that! That girl is going to get creamed!"

Nabiki smiled slightly. "I don't think so, Akane. Did you notice her reaction to the swarm? It was-"

"It was petrified is what it was!!"

"No. Just before the group surrounded her she fell into a fighting stance and I swear I saw her smirk."

"What?" Akane was thoroughly confused. Who would smile at a bunch of sex crazed jocks jumping them?

"Look." Nabiki pointed into the street brawl.

As if to answer Akane's question, half a dozen of the boys were hurtled through the air landing with a revolting, teeth clenching crunch at her feet. The red head was suddenly visible. She had abandoned her pack and was gracefully weaving in between the baseball players, kendoists, and others that made up the Akane Fan Club. All the while, knocking several of them out each time she struck. It took the new girl less time than Akane had ever done to completely wipe the floor with the unconscious boys.

Nabiki took her hand off Akane when she was satisfied her little sister wasn't going to head into the fight again. Meanwhile, the redhead was wiping off her hands on her green Chinese military pants and shrugging the pack on to her shoulder once again.

"Ahh! The fair Akane Tendo has yet again dealt swift justice to the perverse male populace. It brings me great joy to know that you have suffered so to now face me, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furikan High, in what shall be a duel of love." Kuno stepped out from behind a tree and was now striking a pose with his bokotu raised above his head. He wore his kendo uniform to show himself as the captain of said club.

Akane grimaced at the sound of Kuno's voice, but set herself up to fight the arrogant upperclassman. "Look Kuno. I'm really getting tired of having to knock you out every day and besides, I didn't beat up your damn gang today."

"Ha. For sure my ears deceive me as I'm certain you crushed the opposition now unconscious at your-," Kuno blinked, choked, and then did a double take. With hearts in his eyes, Kuno followed the movements of the red head across the street.

As she was beginning to walk off Kuno suddenly appeared before her, glomping onto her hand and presenting a bundle of roses in his right. "What heavenly visage doth appear before me that I would kneel before her without hesitation?"

"Huh? I'm Ran-"

"My pardon, sweet goddess, but it is impolite to ask your name without first presenting mine self. I am the Champion of Nerima, Noblest of Men, Tate-"

"Tatewaki Kuno, Blue Thunder of Furikan High. Yeah, I heard you the first time." The girl held Kuno's mouth closed with her hand and accepted his offered roses. "I'm Ranma. What can I do for you Kuno?"

Akane and Nabiki, not to mention the rest of the gathered students still conscious, including Kuno, gapped at what the girl had just done. Never in all the years of Kuno's life has anyone ever accepted his roses and taken his outrageous persona with such ease. Kuno looked blankly into Ranma's eyes and tried his best to speak, "I . . I . . I. . me . .uh."

Ranma frowned a bit and looked around her surroundings. "Hey! Is this guy your friend? I think there is something wrong with him." Nabiki was the first to recover from the initial shock and walked over to the waiting red head. 

"Yeah. He's fine. Just a little taken back by your kindness, I think." That said, Nabiki placed her hand on Kuno's head and tipped him over. He fell with a heavy thud, cracking the cement beneath him. "You say your name was Ranma? I'm Nabiki, Tendo Nabiki." Nabiki offered her hand. Ranma shook it casually, looking over the other girl critically. Nabiki was slightly taller than herself with short cut black hair and a business like demeanor hung about her. Really, the first thing Ranma noticed was how cold Nabiki appeared, but felt the warmth coming from the girl. Not much warmth, but it still contrasted with the way the girl appeared to her.

"Hmm. That's too bad. He was kind of cute." Ranma smelled the roses in her right hand and almost purred when she smiled at the aroma. After a moment she sighed and looked back at Nabiki. "Well I best be off. Tell your friend Kuno 'Thanks for the roses'. It's not everyday I get flowers from a handsome stranger. 'sigh' Bye." Ranma stepped lightly past Nabiki and waved with her free hand. 

There was a short pause in Nabiki's brain as she tried to work out the praise Ranma had given Kuno. Ewe! She then noticed Ranma was walking down the block. "Hey wait! You're leaving?" Nabiki couldn't believe she almost let the greatest money making scheme in her life simply walk by with a wave.

"Where are you heading?" Akane finally came out of her daze and crossed the street to stand beside her sister. Ranma quickly made an about face when she saw this new girl. Akane was slightly smaller than Nabiki, but her hair was much longer and came together in a bow. Unlike Nabiki, Akane was very expressive. Ranma could see happiness and concern in the new girl's eyes and a smile on her face, which Ranma hoped was somehow for her. Ranma had never met anyone like her before, she was so cute.

"Wow, you're cute." Akane blushed at the flattery then she realized who had just said it and started to feel a little uncomfortable. She could tell, looking at the ground that Ranma was still staring at her. "I'm Ranma. What's your name?" Ranma bent over at the waist to get a better look at the bashful girl.

"I'm Akane."

"Here." Ranma handed Akane the roses. "I think you deserve these more than I do." Akane blushed even more and accepted the roses. Nabiki stood stunned at how openly Ranma was flirting with another girl, her sister none the less.

"S-So where are you headed?"

Ranma turned back to Nabiki after giving Akane a cock-eyed grin. "Nowhere really. I haven't got any permanent residence or nothing. You could say I'm on a rather long stroll through the park."

"Oh? You haven't got anywhere to stay? That's terrible. Your much too young to be out on your own." Concern came creeping back into Akane's eyes as she studied the redhead.

Ranma looked over at Akane with another disarming smile, "You trying to offer me a place to stay, cutie?" Akane blushed again and returned to staring at some very interesting piece of pavement.

"That sounds like a perfect idea." Nabiki stated.

"Huh?"

Normally, Ranma would have expected someone to say that in a friendly and inviting manner. But there was a certain undertone of hunger in the way Nabiki said it.

"We've got school now, but if you could meet us here afterwards we could take you to our house Ranma." Nabiki smiled as she looked at the redhead. She could smell the money making deals in the air.

"Nabiki! You can't just ask Ranma to live with us. She probably has family waiting for her."

Ranma studied Akane carefully and sighed. "Yeah Nabiki. I wouldn't want to impose or something, but thanks for the offer." Nabiki could almost cry. She had Ranma in her clutches and her idiot little sister was sending her away. She had to do something to get Ranma to stay, just long enough to convince her to-

"Hold on, Ranma. You helped my sister take care of her fan club so the least we can do is offer you a place to stay for the night anyway." Ranma stopped and looked back around her pack at Nabiki. Good, now all she had to do was sweeten the deal a little. "I'm sure you haven't had a good meal and a hot bath in a while." That did it. Ranma immediately turned back around and nodded happily at Nabiki. 

"Great. Then we'll see you after school." Nabiki quickly grabbed Akane's arm and ran into the school before the bell could ring and to keep her little sister from changing Ranma's mind again.

Ranma watched the two girls hurry off to class and sighed happily. She took a look around the slowly reviving boys and felt it best to leave the school for now. Kuno was still wide-eyed and slobbering on the pavement where Nabiki had pushed him. She scratched his name from her mind; pathetic. 

Akane wasn't able to concentrate the entire day at school. The conversation with Ranma kept repeating in her head. 'Wow you're cute.', did she mean it? Sure, Akane had tons of boys trying to date her daily, but this was the first time a girl had said anything like that to her. But that wasn't right. Girls shouldn't say things like that to other girls. It just wasn't right.

Akane still had the roses Ranma offered her. She couldn't take her eyes off of them. The red petals reminded her of Ranma's red hair, and when Akane thought of the red hair she couldn't help but remember the girls smile and gentle features. Akane blushed once again.

This line of thought would repeat itself through each of Akane's classes and it seemed to be the prompt for her teachers to snap at her and ask if she was paying attention. At this rate, Akane would be serving detention for the rest of the week and it was only Monday.

Lunchtime finally arrived. Akane needed to get her mind off of Ranma. Hopefully her friends could distract her enough when she met them out in the courtyard like she always did for lunch. Sayuri and Yuka were already outside at one of the benches waiting for her. They waved when Akane stepped out of the main doors; she waved back. Then Akane stopped short of meeting her friends when she noticed someone a little further off waving to her. The person was sitting by the trees and it was hard to make out features due to the tree's shade but the red hair was a definite give away. Ranma was kneeling down by the trees, a book in her hand and some food sitting in a bowl next to her.

"Hey, Akane, who is that?" Sayuri looked curiously at Ranma who had returned to reading her book. 

"Uhm."

"I don't think I've ever seen her before. Is she a new friend of yours?" Yuka asked.

"That's uh . . . that's . ." Akane never got the rest out, but walked over to Ranma and stared down at the red head. "What are you doing here?"

"Hmm?", Ranma looked up from her book. "I didn't know when your school got out and I had no where to go so I picked up some noodles and thought I'd wait for you and your sister here. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Akane looked at Ranma's big blue eyes and became captivated by the pretty girl once again.

"Would you like to join me? I've got plenty." Ranma smiled and indicated the bowls of ramen sitting beside her.

"Sure." Akane kneeled before the girl, still unable to take her eyes off Ranma. Ranma seemed not to notice but smiled sweetly and looked at Akane's friends. Sayuri and Yuka were looking at Akane with similar looks of curiosity and concern for their bewildered friend.

Akane noticed Ranma's gaze and snapped out of her daydream. "Oh, these are some of my friends, Sayuri and Yuka." Akane didn't seem capable of saying much else so Ranma continued for her.

"I'm Ranma. Nice to meet you Sayuri and Yuka." The other two girls sat down beside their friend and tried to make conversation and not notice the strange way Akane was acting. Ranma handed each of them some ramen in bowls she kept in her backpack. 

"Hey this is really good." Yuka commented.

Sayuri agreed through a full mouth. "Yeah, were did you get it."

"Oh, I make it myself."

"Really?" The two girls chorused together and continued to eat. Akane finally took notice of the bowl in her hands and lifted the chopsticks to her mouth and had some of the noodles herself.

"Yeah. My great grandmother taught me how to cook ramen while I was in China." Ranma simply beamed with pride at the praise her cooking was getting from her new friends.

"You are from China, Ranma?" Akane asked through bites of ramen. Her mouth was watering with each bite.

"No. I don't think so, anyway."

"You don't know where you're from?" Yuka stopped to stare at the blushing red head.

"I . . it doesn't matter as much as where I'm going." Ranma sidestepped the question as best as she could.

"Oh? Where are you headed?" This time it was Sayuri who took a moment from her ramen to question Ranma.

Ranma smiled at the girl, "I don't know that either . .", and looked at Akane and purred the last part, ". . . yet."

Akane looked at Ranma, falling into those deep cobalt eyes once again, she blushed and returned to eating the ramen. Ranma smiled and returned to reading her book, the moment was completely lost on Sayuri and Yuka, but they stayed quiet and ate, unsure about what to do about their unusually somber friend. 

Ranma was still waiting outside reading when she noticed a group of kids in gym clothes at the baseball diamond. They were cheering 'Akane' so Ranma decided to head over and see what was going on. She dropped to the ground gracefully and watched as Akane stepped up to the plate with a bat. People in the outfield started backing up even further knowing what was to come. 

"Man, Akane is coming up to bat." Some boy was talking to his friend behind and to Ranma's right.

"Yeah, she is so hot. Wearing those shorts and white t-shirts. Oh boy, that always brings an erotic dream to me."

"Hehe. Don't I know it." His friend snickered and continued to leer at Akane. "Man, if she were my girlfriend we'd be-"

"Laughing at all of your failed attempts to get her into bed." Ranma had enough of these assholes going on about Akane.

"Huh? Hey-!"

"You probably don't have the slightest clue as to how to treat a woman. Talking like that definitely won't get you anywhere. So unless you want me to make sure you stay a loner the rest of your life-!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Akane saw Ranma sitting on the sideline. Losing all concentration on the game she hit a foul ball which sped into the sidelines, straight for Ranma. 

"Oh no!" Akane dropped the bat and brought her hands to her mouth in fear of what was to come.

Ranma talked back to the insolent boy, not watching the ball heading straight for her head.

"Ranma!" Akane yelled a warning.

The ball smacked Ranma, hard. She didn't notice however as she had caught the foul tip with her left hand and continued, "-don't act like such a JERK!"

The two boys gulped and watched the ball become pulverized in Ranma's hand. With no more prompting, the two boys took their leave and ran to the boys' locker room before the stain on their pants became noticeable. Akane watched Ranma with fascination as she caught the ball and crushed it with one hand.

Ranma returned to the game and yelled a cheer, "Yeah, Akane! Go get them tiger!" Akane blushed from head to toe.

"Hey Ranma! I heard you stuck around all afternoon." Nabiki was the first to get out of school and find her. 

"Yeah, well." Ranma looked around expectantly. "Where's Akane?"

"She'll be along as soon as she ditches Kuno."

"Oh. He chases her around a lot, huh?"

"You could say that."

The two girls suddenly turned around when they could hear a loud ruckus coming from the main gates. "Forget it, Kuno! I'm NOT DATING YOU!" The figure of a boy in a kendo uniform could be seen making an arc in the sky. 

"Hmm. Her aim is getting better." Nabiki noted.

"What?"

"I'd say Akane has punted Kuno right into the zoo this time." Ranma stared at Nabiki, shocked and followed Kuno's flight a little while longer.

"Jerk." Akane was still broiling with anger when she caught up with them. Noticing Ranma's gaze, Nabiki walked ahead of them to the Tendo home. Ranma smiled at Akane and waited for her to catch up. Again, Akane blushed when she thought of Ranma. "Stupid Kuno thought I was going to go out with him when he saw the roses you gave me." Ranma noticed the roses hanging out the back of Akane's backpack and smiled a little more to herself.

"I'm sorry about that."

"That's alright, it wasn't your fault."

"So Akane," Nabiki cut in, "I heard about your baseball game today. Seems they still haven't recovered that ball you hit." Akane blushed remembering how much she wanted to impress Ranma. She didn't even know why she did it.

"Yeah, Akane. You are quite a major league slugger."

"Thanks for cheering me on Ranma."

"Sure thing kitten." Nabiki raised her eyebrow at this, but kept quiet. Akane certainly didn't seem to mind or she would've done more than giggle like a child.

"Kitten? I thought you called me tiger before?"

"Yeah, but I didn't want to embarrass you."

"Embarrass?"

"Hey, I can see under all that fierceness is a cute little kitten." Nabiki rolled her eyes and walked ahead of the two girls once again.

"Well, I'll see you to lovebirds later. I need to get going."

"Hey, it's nothing like that!" Akane yelled after her sister.

"See you at home Ranma!" Nabiki took off down another side street. Akane stormed ahead of Ranma. She was not a lesbian, so there was no way that Ranma was going to stay on her good side if she could help it. Rumors like that can spread very quickly in Nerima. The very idea of Ranma and herself becoming an item. Sure, Ranma was very attractive, brave, and friendly, but that didn't affect Akane one bit. Finding something on the ground to look at, Akane hoped Ranma didn't notice her blush.

Ranma saw Akane walk ahead of her in huff. Oh great, now she'd done it. Ranma knew she must have been to forward with the poor girl and she hadn't even told her about her secret yet. Boy, Akane is going to be mad at her if she finds out. Maybe it would be best if she didn't, Ranma decided. On a side note, Ranma had taken a great interest in the way Akane's hips swayed slightly as she walked.

Akane just wasn't sure how to act around the pigtailed girl. If she were a guy it would all make sense, but she wasn't. She couldn't help but feel a little awkward under the girl's gaze. Was Nabiki right? Could Ranma be hitting on her? 

'Of course, dummy. The answer is practically staring you right in the face or would be if you weren't walking ahead of her. What are you trying to do? Let her look at your butt? Maybe you are a lesbian.'

"I am not a LESBIAN!"

'Nice one. You just said that loud enough to inform everybody but a couple in Hokkaido.' 

'Shut up!' 

"Hey Akane?" Ranma made a small skip to put herself next to the bigger girl.

'Yeah, tell me to shut up. I'm just your mind talking to you.'

'If you don't shut up, I'm going to break something.' 

"Akane?"

'Like what? You aren't going to hurt me.'

'Arghh!'

"Akane, are you-gak!" 

'Now you've done it Tendo. Hit your new friend just after you met her.'

"Oh, Ranma. I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" Ranma was unable to reply however as she was discovering the hidden meaning to pavement under the tutelage of a large mallet Akane had pulled out of thin air.

"Mmgph."

"What was that?" Akane lifted the mallet off the other girl's head.

"Ow, that hurt." Ranma collapsed, unconscious. 

Ranma woke up some time later in a white room. It must be a hospital, Ranma thought, only so many places smell like antiseptic. Akane was sitting in a chair in a corner of the room, her head hung and shoulder slumped. Ranma took a moment to get her bearings. She was basically in good health except for a sizeable headache that would be gone in a few minutes. Ranma had always been a quick healer, she figured it was due to her martial arts. She would be completely healed already except that she had found a while ago that she heals faster when awake and concentrating. Ranma could hear Akane whimpering and cursing her temper as tears fell to the floor.

"Akane?"

She looked up and saw Ranma staring at her, concerned. How could she have been so stupid? Hitting her knew friend like that! She didn't even know what had come over her. There were just so many emotions at play and she only knew of one way to deal with things like that, so she lashed out. But that is not an excuse. Ranma probably wouldn't want to be her friend anymore. Damn her temper!

"Akane, are you crying?"

There was no anger in Ranma's voice. She should be angry, so why did she sound upset? Akane lifted her head and Ranma could see the tearstains on her cheeks, answering her question.

If there was one thing Ranma couldn't handle was seeing a girl cry. "Come here, Akane."

Akane stood up, but seemed reluctant to stepping any closer to the girl. 

"Akane, I'm alright. I've taken worse hits before. Now come over here." Ranma's voice was gentle and soothing. Akane couldn't help but feel drawn to the pigtailed girl. She soon found herself being cradled in Ranma's arms while she cried and tried to apologize to her friend.

"Shh." Ranma held her new friend close to settle the poor girls crying fit. "It's ok, Akane. Do you want to tell me what was bothering you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Ranma. I didn't mean to hit you." Akane wasn't sure if she could tell Ranma exactly why she was upset. What if she was wrong and Ranma wasn't really interested in her? She was still pretty sure that she liked guys, anyway. 

'Really? Is that why you spend most of the day cursing them?'

'You again? You are really annoying!'

'Whatever. If you listen to me this time it might work out better you stupid tomboy.'

'TOMBOY?!'

'Yeah! Who else would be so physical and hurt an innocent girl like that.'

'. . . '

'Ranma is a sweet person and she would probably understand if you told her how you feel.'

'I don't know.'

'Yes, you do. You just need faith in your friends.'

Reluctantly, Akane conceded to her inner voice, 'Ok.' "Ranma."

"Yeah?"

Akane hesitated under the redhead's gaze. She could feel a lump catch in her throat, but with determination she swallowed and firmed her resolve. "I like you, but not the same way you like me."

"Uhm. Would you care to elaborate on that a little?"

"I just don't think I feel the same way about girls that you do."

Ranma was not stupid. She had grown up in an Amazon village for a good portion of her life and she knew there were women who were attracted to other women. She also knew that those views were not the most popular. Ranma had learned to appreciate the female body quite a deal but she also liked guys so she could understand Akane's feelings. That is, if Ranma was right about where this conversation was headed.

Ticking off the facts in her head, Ranma was fairly certain that she had screwed up the girl's views on sexuality. 'I probably came on too strong again. But she did blush at my compliments and she didn't seem to complain over the attention I was giving her. Then she blew up on our walk to her home about lesbians. Yep, I've confused the hell out of her. She either wants me but can't let go of men, or she likes me but hates how I come on to her. I wonder if I can change her mind about women?'

"I'm sorry, Akane. I was a little too forward with you I guess."

Akane sighed and sat on the bed table next to Ranma. "It's alright, I should've talked to you sooner before I did something rash. So why'd you do it anyway?"

"I . . well, you are a pretty girl." That wasn't the only reason, but it would be the easiest for Akane to understand. Ranma didn't get much in the way of affection from her adopted family and everywhere she went there was usually someone waiting to pick a bone with her. She didn't easily admit this to herself for a while, but she was desperate for love, real or imaginary, so she was always on the look out for a prospective candidate. Of course, Ranma did have her standards, no pathetic losers. That cut the numbers down quite a bit.

"Does your head hurt?"

Ranma checked but seemed fine. "Looks good, just a slight bruise is all. It'll be gone in a little while. Look, Akane, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I do like you. How about you?"

Akane nodded her head as she leaned back up against the red head. 

"Ok. Let's get out of here and talk for a while." For Ranma, friendship was just as rare as love, but it was a good consolation prize. And who knows. Given time, Akane might change her mind and they could . . . oh fuck. Ranma wasn't going to be around Nerima forever, not much more than a month really. She had no where to be now, that was true, but she couldn't stay for long. Nothing in her life was that stable.

"Ahem."

Dr. Tofu stepped into the room and waited for the two girls to compose themselves before he gave Ranma a final look over. He was in his mid twenties, Ranma guessed, and wore a white gi. A fairly handsome man in glasses and slicked back hair, his touch was very gentle which Ranma appreciated greatly.

"So what happened? This looks like it was a pretty heavy hit Ranma. Did Akane take a swipe at you?"

"Yeah, she's a regular powerhouse."

"Hey!" She couldn't believe Ranma was insulting her after they just had that heart to heart talk. "I said I was sorry!"

Ranma and Dr. Tofu looked up at Akane surprised. 

"I was just making a joke. I didn't know you were really that strong."

Akane blushed and stayed quiet until Dr. Tofu finished checking Ranma. Ranma had just been teasing. She really needed to watch her temper.

There was a knock at the door. "Doctor? Are you in?"

"K-K-Kasumi?!"

Ranma looked at the doctor confused. A moment ago he was an ordinary professional doctor now all of a sudden he was falling apart. A tall girl stepped into the room. She had long black hair like Akane and it was pulled together in a blue bow draped over her left shoulder. She was a very pleasant looking woman with a motherly attitude about her. 

"Kasumi!" That was as much warning as Akane could get out when suddenly Ranma felt a terrible crack in her neck. Dr. Tofu had been probing her bruised head; now stuck at an odd angle. The surprise in her eyes spoke for itself.

Kasumi greeted her sister and then came across Ranma. She tilted her head a little to get a good look at the redhead.

"Kasumi! F-Fancy meeting you here! Can I get you some tea?" Dr. Tofu's glasses had fogged up and he was currently talking to a medical skeleton standing in the corner of the room. 

"You are so funny, Dr. Tofu." Kasumi giggled. "I brought you the book I borrowed last week."

"Hmm? Oh thank you, thank you, hehe." The book was passed to Dr. Tofu and then flipped out the closed window. 

"Well we should be going Ranma." Akane decided to save her friend before things got much worse. "See you at home Kasumi."

"Ok Akane." The two girls left in a hurry. More sounds of breaking glass could be heard as they closed the front door to the clinic. Akane sighed and walked for home.

"Is he always like that?" Ranma was having sort of a difficult time walking with her head fixed at such an odd angle. She could still see how depressed Akane had become though.

"No. He's only like that around Kasumi."

Ranma took a close look at her friend, "You liked him, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Akane walked on thinking about Dr. Tofu. "I've had a crush on him since I was little, but I guess that's all it was." Silence fell over the two girls as they walked the rest of the way home. Only stopping to pick up Ranma's backpack which proved to heavy for Akane to even budge. She would have to remember to ask Ranma about that.

They arrived at the Tendo home a half-hour later. Akane's father, Soun, was out. Nabiki said he had gone out to celebrate the return of one of his old friends. Kasumi returned soon after and had dinner ready later. Akane and Ranma spent the time working on the homework for the evening. To Akane's surprise, Ranma was actually a very smart person for someone who had spent so much time out of school. Ranma told her about her great grandmother in China and how she was forced to read textbooks to get an education. 

"So eventually, I'd gotten so used to reading whatever my great grandmother gave me that it sort of became a habit of mine. I didn't really start getting into this math and science stuff till I first came back to Japan. Great grandmother usually gave me Amazon lore and what she called worldly literature." Ranma sat cross-legged on Akane's bed flipping through the same book she had out at school.

Akane looked up from the math book on her desk to study the girl on her bed. "How come you left your great grandmother Ranma?"

"Hmm? Oh, she wasn't my real great grandmother, but she raised me alongside her great grandchild for six years, so I just got used to calling her that. Anyway, I didn't really belong with the Amazons, so when I was old enough I decided to leave. Find a place where I belonged, you know?"

"Um. Did you ever try to look for your parents?"

"I really wouldn't know where to begin."

"What's you last name?"

"That's the problem, I don't know. I doubt they'd even recognize me either. Besides, from what great grandmother could tell me about my father, I don't think I want to find them." Akane noticed that Ranma's voice stayed perfectly neutral. She had obviously given up on her family a long time ago. This made Akane feel slightly depressed, but also a little more sure about Ranma. In the short time that she had known this girl, she had somehow opened her heart and shared it with her. 

Akane thought of her own parents. Her father was an emotional man. Crying most of the time when something didn't go the way he wanted it to. He'd been like that ever since her mother died. Akane couldn't remember much about her mother, except how kind and caring she was. Kasumi reminded her of Kumiko, which is probably why Akane treated Kasumi like the mother of the house. Akane's thoughts drifted back to Ranma and thought how terrible it must be to not have a real family, someone you could feel in your heart and knew they cared for you. 

"Ranma, I want you to stay here." 

"Maybe for a while, Akane. Thank you." Ranma had nowhere to be for a little while. Sticking around with Akane could be fun. Even if nothing happened between the two of them, she was a nice person. Ranma felt the soft comfortable bed beneath, much softer and warmer then the ground she normally slept on. 

"Great! I'll show you where the spare room is and I'll help you get settled in. We should hurry though, I think Kasumi will have dinner ready soon."

Ranma noticeably perked up at the mention of food. Her ramen was good, but eating it for months tended to get on anyone's nerves. Akane tried again to pick up Ranma's backpack with the same result as before. Looking a bit sheepish, she moved out of the way so Ranma could lift it. 

"How can you do that?" Akane was still amazed by the little girl lifting that huge pack. Ranma was much smaller than Akane, she had trouble figuring out where the girl hid her extra muscle.

"Many years of training, grasshopper."

Akane rolled her eyes at that and led the way down the hallway to the guestroom. Nabiki stepped out of room next to Akane's in time to see Ranma enter the spare room. This looked as good a time as any to learn something about Ranma. Nabiki could tell from the first time she saw Ranma that there was a mystery to the girl and it wasn't lesbianism. That was as obvious as a neon sign blinking on the girl's forehead. She had hoped that Akane would get Ranma talking more about her life in China, but set her earphones down when she heard the conversation wouldn't be progressing much further. 

The spare room had a small futon, dresser, and a simple desk with a lamp. It wasn't much but the Tendo's hadn't gotten company like Ranma in a while. Akane and Ranma had opened the main pouch of the pack and were putting away the girl's clothes into the dresser. 

"Need some help?"

"Hi, Nabiki. Sure, that'd be great." Ranma smiled pleasantly at the older girl and resumed folding one of her red silk blouses and placing it in the drawer. Nabiki took a step closer to the pack and decided to open one of the smaller pouches for more information. She found various jars and packets filled with spices, she guessed. 

"Where do you want these?" Nabiki picked up one of the flasks to examine it. The label was written in Chinese, but looked like all the other spices Kasumi used to make her meals. 

Ranma looked at the flask and had to hold herself back from snatching the bottle from the girl's hand. As long as Nabiki had no idea what it was she wouldn't make the girl suspicious. "I won't be needing those for a while since I'll be staying here, so I guess they can just stay in the pack." That would have to do for now until she could hide some of them. 

Nabiki continued her search into another of the pouches. She found one tucked between the main pouch and the seat of the pack. It was obviously meant to be a hidden pocket. "Hmm, now I wouldn't have expected this to be a necessary in survival gear." She hefted a ten-millimeter Glock, careful not to put her finger near the trigger.

Ranma jumped at the gun and snatched it out of Nabiki's hand, quickly checking that everything was working properly. Akane looked more than a little shocked. "It's . . uh . . it's not mine."

Akane turned red with anger. No one should ever bring a gun into her house. It threatened her family's safety and that was something she wouldn't have. "Ranma! What are you doing with a gun in **my** house!" Out of nowhere, Akane came at Ranma with a mallet, ready to cave the girl's head in.

"Hold on, Akane." Nabiki held her sister's shoulder and looked back at Ranma. She was no fool, attacking someone with a gun, who also displayed the ability to hurt others was not smart. Taking a less violent path would hopefully insure their safety. "I'm sure Ranma is going to explain this to us very quickly."

Akane stopped but held onto her mallet. "It better be good."

Ranma thought this over for a moment. Sure, she liked Akane, but she wasn't ready to trust the girl. Ranma could always tell a lie. That would be easy. Just say, you took it from some bad guy but had no way to dispose of it. That would work, but it would also get the gun taken away from her. Ranma needed the gun, so that was out. Oh well, that left one other choice. She sighed. Ranma was so looking forward to a homemade supper.

Without saying a word, Ranma stepped past the two Tendo girls and snatched up the clothes she had been putting away. Dropping it all unceremoniously into her bag, she zipped up the main pouch and stuffed the Glock back in its place.

"I'll be leaving now." Ranma hefted her backpack, much as she was hefting her new found depression, and proceeded out the door. She stopped for a moment at the front door, the Tendos standing behind her, "Thanks for your hospitality." Ranma left.

Akane and Nabiki stood at the open door, watching the redhead make her way down the street. Her head hung low on her shoulders and the backpack seemed to drag the girl down just a bit more. Akane was still mad, however, and didn't pay any attention to how pathetic Ranma looked.

"Was that your friend, Akane?" Kasumi came out of the kitchen to see what was going on.

"No, she was just passing through." Akane turned on her heel and headed back up to her room.

"That's too bad. She seemed like such a nice girl. I thought at least she would stay for dinner." Kasumi turned back into the kitchen to finish dinner. Nabiki was still puzzled by the girl. Why would Ranma have a gun? Was she in danger? Or was she going to cause it? Whatever the answer, Nabiki was certain that they would be much safer with Ranma gone.

Nabiki closed the front door after watching the clouds build up in the sky. Somehow she couldn't help but shake a dark premonition from her mind. Rain started to fall and in the distance she could see lightening followed up by loud clap of thunder. This was going to be a nasty storm.

End Chapter One

Dinner had gone by quietly. Akane and Nabiki didn't know what to say about Ranma. Was there anything to say? The girl had brought a dangerous weapon meant for killing into their home. They did the right thing to send the girl away, didn't they?

Akane picked at her food for a while before standing up and leaving the table. She told Kasumi she wasn't hungry and left for her room. 

Nabiki, for her part, felt a bit of loss now that Ranma was gone. She didn't really care for the girl but she could have made so much money off the girl and the dojo could use all the support she could get. Oh well.

Kasumi never noticed anything being amiss. She sat in her seat, smiling and thinking about her visit to Dr. Tofu's. He'd been so silly, like usual. She wondered why he acted in such a way. It must get expensive, paying for all those broken windows. Thus she didn't notice when Nabiki left after clearing the rest of the table.

Akane was scribbling furiously on her homework paper. She couldn't believe how easily Ranma had been playing her. She was probably planning on waiting until her family was asleep then shooting each of them in their beds. What a fool she'd been, falling for a pretty face and some deep blue eyes-

No, she was upset at Ranma. That pig-tailed girl was probably out there somewhere laughing at how stupid she was. Akane's anger was increasing exponentially now. Her pencil snapped in her hand and she just exploded. "Damn you Ranma!"

Her homework flew across the room soon to be followed by the broken pencil and the few books resting on her desk. She still needed something to throw or hit or . . something, but she needed to do it now!

Focusing on her bed, Akane started pounding her pillow until she was too tired to continue. Taking deep breathes, she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Akane wasn't sure what she was feeling. She was upset at Ranma, but a part of her wanted the girl back again. Ranma had been a strange outlet for her emotions and it was something Akane needed desperately. That and a comfortable bed. 

Something was sticking in her back and she soon realized it was a book. Reaching around with her right hand, Akane pulled a black, leather bound notebook from beneath her. It was Ranma's, the same one she'd been reading at school and even scribbling in earlier in her room. She didn't want to be a snoop so Akane hadn't asked what was in it, but with Ranma gone . . .

The leather strap come off easy and Akane started leafing through the book's contents. Most of it was written in Chinese. It seemed to be notes on martial arts and Zen stuff. Occasionally, she found drawings of people performing special kicks and punches, with details further on. Other pages seemed to contain recipes and started to be written in Japanese. Akane guessed this was when Ranma had come back and was learning the language. 

The book had about three hundred pages in it and was only a third of the way filled. When Akane came to the last couple of entries she held her breath and stared at what she saw. They were pictures. Pictures of her. Ranma must have done some of these while she was sitting in Akane's room. There were some practice etchings of her face on the first couple of pages but after that, there were scenes of Akane hitting a homerun, or walking home with her book-bag in tow, or sitting at her desk and doing her homework. 

There was obvious talent in Ranma's work. Was this the same girl she had just thrown out of her home? None of this made sense. How could someone who could draw with such passion and act so caring be bad? Thinking for a while, Akane couldn't remember anything in Ranma's attitude that would cause her to thing that the girl could act maliciously. Something else had to be going on. Something was forcing Ranma to carry that gun.

Akane clutched the book close to her breast. Ranma would be back for it and Akane would wait. She needed answers.

"Akane?!" Soun was calling his family together for a family meeting. Akane wondered what it could be about.

"Coming daddy!"

Downstairs, Akane found her father in one of the receiving rooms. Her sisters were kneeling on one side of a low table. Kasumi was in her dress still while Nabiki had changed into kimono. Why'd she do that?

On the other side of her father sat three people she didn't know. One was an old man in a white gi and a bandana on his forehead, poorly covering the fact he was bald. The second was a woman in her forties who had aged quite gracefully. She carried a katana covered sheathed in silk. The last was a young man with black hair tied back into a pigtail much like Ranma's, blue eyes like Ranma's, and wore Chinese clothes like Ranma did.

"Ah, Akane. Have a seat." Her father gestured to a seat by Nabiki, "This is my old friend Genma Saotome, his wife Nodoka, and their son Ranma." Akane took in a quick breath when she heard the boy's name. "I have something very wonderful to tell you."

Ranma-chan sulked. It'd been months since she had received such an offer to stay at someone's house. Eating real food, having a warm bath, sleeping in a comfortable bed; she'd give almost anything to have any one of those things right now. Now she was out in the rain, no camp set up and a mission to fulfill. Ranma still shivered at the thought of what she was here to do. She hadn't even pulled out the handgun to check it in weeks because it gave her the creeps. Martial artists don't use handguns. There was nothing elegant about a gun. It was indiscriminate and had only one use, killing.

Travelling by herself had given Ranma plenty of time to think about what the Council had asked her to do. 

Some time ago, a Japanese scientist, along with a Commander in their army came to the village-seeking recruits. They asked specifically for Ranma because they claimed that she had an innate talent they required. Something required to function something called Evangelion. 

Even without television or radio, the Amazons had heard about Second Impact. Great grandmother told Ranma it happened in the middle of the night and shook the entire earth for a few minutes. The Amazons had no idea what caused it but when it was discovered that half the planet, 2.5 billion people, were dead because of it, the Council was eager to cooperate to prevent something like that from happening again. Before they left, the Commander had given Ranma a handgun for her protection. 

Cologne, her great grandmother, had told Ranma to prepare to travel to Tokyo-3. The Commander had promised to send a helicopter to pick her up in a couple of months when everything would be ready, but Cologne had insisted that the journey was necessary to focus Ranma's destiny. 

Ranma was only a dozen or so miles from her rendezvous point, but it was too late in the day to continue her journey and she still had three weeks before they needed her to be there. She stopped in a park, and set up camp beneath a bridge. 

Lost in thought over what had just happened at the Tendo home, she fell asleep without making dinner. Her dreams were of Akane and how much the girl must hate her now. She didn't sleep well the rest of the week.

Ranma had spent the last five days in the mountains near Nerima. She needed to get away from the city, someplace where she could concentrate on her martial arts, and forget about Akane. 

The last couple of days of her training, Ranma had been concentrating on furthering the control of her ki. She'd been quite pleased with herself when she was able to focus it into a tiny shaft of light and not lose any of the power she normally had behind it. Who needs a gun when you're a martial artist? 

She was heading back to Nerima to spend the night under the bridge she used the last time and from there she'd make her way to Tokyo-3. It was still a week too soon, but the Commander probably wouldn't mind and she could spend the time getting to know the place. Ranma still wasn't sure what she was going to be doing, but wasn't too concerned. The one thing that was a constant in Ranma's life was adventure. She couldn't go a full week without someone challenging her or trying to marry her. It made for interesting writing in her diary.

Thinking about it, Ranma realized it'd been a while since she'd written in her diary. She rarely had anyone to confide with. Even her great grandmother didn't give her the time talk about the things that had been troubling her. Ranma appreciated, the old ghoul for taking care of her, but life had still been hard on Ranma. In the village she was treated like an animal. They all knew she wasn't a born Amazon and felt that that was reason enough to push her around. Even her sister thought of Ranma as a servant. Cologne had seen the potential in Ranma and so trained her to be a warrior. At first, Ranma thought Cologne was trying to show her affection, but later Ranma found she would be used as the front line when they declared war against the Musk. Ranma had grown up a lot in those years, more than anyone should. 

After defeating Herb, Prince of the Musk, Ranma decided to leave the village. She traveled all over China, meeting different fighters and learning new techniques. During a short trip into Japan, Ranma met a couple of exceptional martial artists, Kounji Ukyo and Habiki Ryouga. She spent a year living with them. They were very nice people. Ranma had even gotten a crush on Ryouga, but he and Ukyo had eventually gotten together. A little rejected, Ranma left the couple to their lives. Ryouga had decided to give her the heavy pack filled with supplies and bamboo umbrella to her, saying he'd traveled all over the world with it but he was done travelling now. It was damned heavy, but she got stronger and even learned to wield the heavy umbrella as a weapon the same way Ryouga had. 

Ranma returned to the Amazon village after a few months of wandering and took up the role of Enforcer, alienating herself from the rest. It wasn't long after that that Commander Gendou came to the village looking for her. Of course, the Amazons were only too happy to hand her over to NERV, but the Council hid it the best they could. Despite it all, Ranma still had some respect for Cologne as a great martial artist, and followed her orders to help the Commander.

Ranma had reached the bridge a little while ago and was staring at the river flowing by. Dropping the pack and her clothes, she entered the water to clean herself of the dirt she'd accumulated over the past couple of weeks. People couldn't normally do this, but after Second Impact, there were far fewer people to object to her indecency. After her bath, she fixed up the tent and set to making some dinner.

Warming up some ramen, Ranma sighed, and started shuffling through her pack for her diary. It was in the top flap of her pack along with her pencil. Or it had been, anyway. When Ranma didn't find it, she started sifting through another pouch, not there either. Damn, where is it? She started to tear apart her pack, pulling out her clothes, pots, pans, spices, mystical items, and an assortment of weapons. Still nothing. 

Ranma had forgotten about her dinner and was frantically going through all of her things again with no luck. Where did she leave it? It had everything in it, her thoughts, interests, magic spells, martial arts techniques; it was the only thing that made her feel comfortable while she was out on her own. It had to be here!

Tears were starting to form in Ranma's eyes. She'd give anything, absolutely anything to get that book back. No family, friends, or a life beyond the art, that book was all she had and now she didn't even have that. Where could it be?!

Akane.

Ranma remembered drawing in it while she was with Akane, in her room. She must have left it lying on the bed when they had gone to settle her into the guestroom. Could she go back there and get it? Ranma remembered how angry Akane had been when she discovered the handgun. Silently, Ranma cursed the Commander for making her take the thing. Her martial arts could protect her better than any gun and it didn't make her feel so damned nervous. 

Great grandmother would say she was being silly, but she couldn't leave her diary behind. Ranma made up her mind. She'd go back and get it, and hopefully she could do it without being noticed. The less confrontation the better. 

Quickly, Ranma packed her belongings and started making her way back to the Tendo dojo. With very little effort she bound on to the nearest roof outside of the park and hopped from one to the other. Normally, this would be impossible and with a pack that weighed almost a ton it was doubly impossible, but for Ranma this was simply the fastest way to travel.

Something on the edge of her mind wondered if Akane had been mad enough to destroy the diary. Ranma ran a little faster. 

How do you like that? This had been one of the worst weeks of Akane's life. First she falls for some passing girl. Then later she kicks the same girl out of her house in rage. Finds the leather bound notebook in her room, filled with some of the sweetest things she'd ever seen, and now her family pushes her to become engaged to a guy with the same name, age, and style as the girl she fell for. He would be a perfect copy of Ranma-chan except he's an **idiot** and acts like a **jerk**!

Thank god his mother was there to stop him before he put his foot in his mouth too far. Akane had been two seconds away from smashing the table on his head, but Mrs. Saotome had intervened and told Ranma that he was bringing shame to himself and the family. 

Nodoka and Genma had left for the Saotome home, leaving Ranma behind so the two of them could get to know each other better. Akane had shown him to the spare room and left before he could say anything stupid. 

Things had settled down a bit once Genma had gone. Ranma acted like a jerk a little too often, but he had his sweet moments which reminded Akane of Ranma-chan. Akane still wondered about the coincidences, but this would at least be easier for Akane than the relationship she would've had with Ranma-chan. Ranma-kun and Akane got into plenty of arguments, ending with her flattening him under one of her mallets, but he always did something to apologize.

Things had been going so well, that Ranma had even taken Akane out to dinner and a movie. Sure, not incredibly original, but she couldn't really expect too much from the baka. The movie was an old Jackie Chan flick; Akane would have chosen something romantic, but then she remembered whom she was with. Afterwards they had taken a stroll through the park, holding hands and passing the time by talking about their lives. By the end, Akane was really enjoying the date, but Ranma had to go and say something stupid. Insults were thrown about, Ranma said something about Akane's hips, Mr. Mallet made an impromptu appearance and they ended the date early. 

After stomping into her room, Akane sat on her bed and threw her pillow at the door. She stopped when she saw Ranma-chan's book. Akane had been certain the girl would have come back for it. A week had passed and Ranma had not returned. Akane still got upset at herself for letting the redhead go, wondering about what might have been. Her anger gone, Akane picked up the book and pillow and sat back on her bed, sifting through the pages once again. 

Akane laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling, but not really seeing anything but the sketches in Ranma-chan's book. It was clutched tightly against her breast in both hands like a child would with a teddy bear. Akane could only think of the good things about the Ranma-chan and silently wondered what she was doing. She hoped Ranma-chan wouldn't hold a grudge if they met again. Her fears had been fair and Ranma-chan hadn't offered any sort of explanation.

Remembering the huge pack the girl carried around, she imagined Ranma was sleeping in a tent under a bridge somewhere. Poor girl.

Akane fell asleep late that night, thinking of Ranma-chan again.

'Geez, doesn't this girl ever go to sleep?'

It was raining out and Ranma-chan had been waiting on the roof above Akane's room waiting for the light to go out, her clothes were soaked and her lip trembled from the cold. The pack was left on the side of the house because it would surely have broken through the roof if left sitting for too long. 

It had to be past midnight when the light finally did go off. The storm had picked up and lightening could be seen every now and then. She waited another half-hour before checking to see if Akane was asleep. As quietly as possible, Ranma dangled by her legs from the rafters to look into Akane's room. She could see the girl sleeping under the covers, clutching something to her chest. The window was unlocked, so Ranma swung herself into the bedroom and landed on her feet without making a sound. Part of the carpet was becoming soaked from the water dripping off of Ranma-chan's clothes. Closing the window again, the rain continued to pitter-patter against the pane. 

She started with the desk and trash bin. They were the most obvious place to put a book left by someone you were mad at. Nothing. She checked each of the desk drawers, vanity area, closet, and clothes drawer, the flashes from outside dispelling the darkness so she could see. Nothing.

'Damn! It just has to be here. Where else could Akane have put it?'

Scanning the room again, Ranma-chan came across Akane's form shifting under the covers. A sharp edge stuck out of the sheets. It was definitely something clutched in her arms. Ranma swore, that had to be it.

Edging close to the bed, she started to pull back the covers a little to make sure it was her diary. Ranma-chan blushed when she saw the nightie Akane was wearing lit up by another flash of lightening. Under different circumstances, she might have enjoyed this a little more, but right now all she wanted was her diary. 

'Why is Akane holding onto it in her bed anyway? She must have looked through it. She might even have known that I was going to be back for it. But, if she's mad, why would she hold it in her sleep so securely?' Ranma-chan thought about this a moment, but decided it wasn't worth exploring, not while her entire life was held in some strangers hands.

Taking and edge of the book, Ranma-chan hoped she could slip it out of the sleeping girls grasp without disturbing anything. Fate, however, had other plans. Akane slowly turned over in her sleep so she was resting on her side, facing Ranma. 

"Hi, Ranma."

Ranma-chan's heart skipped a beat. She was sure Akane was still asleep, had she been caught?

"You really think I'm cute?" 

Ranma-chan watched the other girl a moment and saw her blush as she heard Ranma-chan's response in her dream. 'Maybe she isn't upset at me anymore if she's dreaming about me.' Tugging again at the diary, it came loose and Ranma-chan let out a soft sigh of relief. 

"Ranma."

A hand shot out and grabbed her arm, frightening the hell out of the redhead. Akane's grip on her wrist wasn't strong but neither was it going to let go anytime soon. Akane's breathing was still slow and deep so she was still asleep; Ranma had to think. If she waited for Akane to let go on her own, she'd be able to leave unnoticed. That was supposing Akane was going to let go and if she didn't fall asleep first. Maybe if she worked at it slowly enough she could . . .

Akane's hand started to move on it's own. It was not the dreamlike movements Ranma wanted though. This was someone slowly gaining consciousness. 

"Ran- . . RANMA!"

Akane shot up in her bed still hold on to the frightened red head. She held the wet girl by the wrist and noticed the book in her hand. Without thinking, Akane grabbed the book from the girl's hand and held it close to her body. 

"A-Akane! I didn't mean to- . . I . I didn't mean to-"

"Wake me up?!"

"Uh."

"You're not getting this book away from me that easily. I want some answers Ranma." Ranma-chan stared desperately at the book that was once again, out of her reach. 

"Look, I'm sorry about the gun. I wouldn't have it around if it were up to me."

Akane smiled. "So there is something going on. I knew you weren't a bad person, but I need to hear the truth from you."

"B-B-But Akane! I can't! I was told I could get into trouble if I said anything." Though Ranma-chan was becoming flustered by her inability to tell Akane what she wanted to hear, she kept her eyes locked on the book, afraid that if she looked away it may vanish forever. 

"Well that's too bad Ranma, cause I'm not giving you back this book until you can make me feel better about who you are."

Ranma was getting very upset. Her diary was only a few feet away from her, held tightly in the other girl's arms, but she couldn't do anything. Ranma wasn't ready to hurt the girl for the book, but she didn't feel secure without it. She was wet, cold, angry, helpless, and without her diary she felt even more alone. Tears started to well up in Ranma-chan's eyes. "Akane . . . Akane please give me back my book. Please."

Akane saw the tears fall from Ranma's eyes, but if she'd been tricked before, she wasn't going to be so easily tricked again. "Give me one good reason, Ranma. Or maybe I should just tear this thing in two." Akane grasped the binding with two hands to show she was willing to rip the book apart.

"NO!!" Ranma scrambled over to the bed and tried to take it from Akane. They struggled for a moment, rolling across the bed and falling off the edge, neither one letting go. "Please, Akane, I don't have anything except this book. Please, Akane!!"

Akane blanked at this startling revelation. Could Ranma really be so alone? Again, she thought of Ranma when she first met her.

'S-So where are you headed?'

'Nowhere really. I haven't got any permanent residence or nothing. You could say I'm on a rather long stroll through the park.'

Ranma-chan's hands let go of the book and pulled back into a punch. A feint blue aura was beginning to form around the redhead's hands as she threatened Akane with violence, the water on her hands turned to steam as she squared off with the bigger girl. Akane would've taken up a defensive stance in retaliation, but the tears Ranma-chan was trying to hold back without success caused her to hold back. She saw a silent and desperate plea in the girl's blue eyes; Akane's hands loosened their grip of the diary.

"Okay." The book slipped through Akane's grasp and became wrapped up in the other girl's arms. This was not a dangerous person, not this small girl, frightened to have a book taken from her. Akane still didn't know the truth about the gun, but she figured it was a whole lot less terrible than she first thought.

Ranma was still cuddling the book, her knees tucked into her chest, edging herself away from Akane. Her eyes were closed as more tears threatened to fall. She shook every now and then, not from the cold, but from the fear of almost losing a piece of herself. 

"Ranma?" The redhead was startled out of her crying when a hand grasped her shoulder. Akane was sitting on her knees beside her trembling friend. Whatever life Ranma had lived, it was apparent the girl had survived emotionally, barely. "Ranma, I'm sorry."

Her whole life she'd spent alone, emotionally. Great grandmother never cared for her except that she was a good fighter. Not being born Amazon, most of the others treated her like a slave if they acknowledged her at all. She thought if she became the greatest warrior that things would change, but she was only pushed further. Just a tool to be used.

Ranma tentatively reached out to Akane. When she saw the other girl hold out her hand Ranma crawled over and embraced her, crying softly into her shoulder. 

Akane held onto Ranma for a while, her nightie becoming wet from the excess water rolling off of the other girl's clothes. Stroking the girl's red hair and rubbing her other hand in a circle over the girl's back, she attempted to soothe Ranma-chan's trembling. After some minutes, the quiet sobbing turned into a little sniffling and then faded completely. Akane continued the embrace even as Ranma fell asleep, the soaked nightie forgotten as Akane sighed in contentment after the redhead began to snore lightly. The storm outside died down to a light downpour. 

"Aahhhhh!"

The Tendo residents were slowly beginning to wake up peacefully until they were startled by a cry coming from the bathroom. Ranma-kun came running out into the hallway, swiftly pursued by an angry brunette with only a towel clasped about her chest. 

"I'm sorry Nabiki! I thought no one else was up, I . . ."

"Get back here Saotome Ranma. You are gonna pay for walking in on me!" Truth be told, Nabiki wasn't really that upset considering Ranma had walked in on her in the buff. She stared long enough to get a good idea of the opportunity she passed up by giving him to Akane. Chasing the half-naked Ranma around the house like this was just an easy way of making him 'apologize'. She was already thinking of the shoes she saw last week in the mall. "What would your iinazuke think if she found you looking at another woman, and her own sister at that!"

"Hey, you know it wasn't like that, besides I noticed you got a good look yourself. And I didn't want this engagement in the-" Backing away from Nabiki, Ranma failed to notice one of the small footstools by the closet and began to tumble backwards. Yelping in surprise, he stumbled, arms flailing, and crashed into Akane's door, knocking it open.

"Smooth move. I thought you were a martial artist. Shouldn't you have . . been . . able-" Nabiki stopped and blinked. With Akane's door open she got a good look at her sister sleeping soundly in her bed. The sun falling over her soft features and smiling face; it was almost angelic. What shocked her, however, was the second person cradled in her sister's arms.

"I was thinking of something else, so I didn't notice the stool so-" Ranma hesitated in the middle of explanation. Nabiki had gotten a nervous tick happening on her eyebrow he'd never seen before. She was obviously shocked about something. Following her gaze, Ranma came upon the couple sleeping in Akane's bed. "Holy heck!" Ranma thought a moment, this would be his perfect opportunity to break out of the engagement. "I believe you were going to say something about infidelity Nabiki." 

Nabiki still hadn't moved or even averted her eyes. She only muttered something so softly Ranma had a hard time of picking it up.

"RANMA!!"

"Ow! Wait till I back off before you scream in my ear!" Ranma-kun twisted a finger in his right ear to stop the ringing.

Nabiki took a moment to settle her nerves and scanned the hall to be sure Kasumi and her father weren't there. Then, without hesitation, Nabiki grabbed Ranma by the shoulder and pushed him further into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Akane?" Nabiki walked to the side of the bed and shook her sister's arm.

"Hmm? What? Is that you Ranma?" Akane's mind wasn't yet quite operational and thus did not realize that Ranma-chan was in her arms and a totally different person was trying to rouse her. 

"Ahem."

That wasn't right. Ranma was next to her on the bed. Did she throw her voice? Who threw their voice to cough? 

Something finally clicked and Akane shot up in bed. Ranma-kun blushed at seeing his fiancée in a simple nightie and focused his attention on a very interesting piece of carpet. 

"Nabiki!"

"Akane."

"Wh-What-What are you doing here?!"

"Oh, I don't think that is as important as what she is doing here." Nabiki pointed accusingly at Ranma-chan, still clutching Akane's waist and mumbling something in her waking slumber. A slight rosy hue developed across Akane's face.

"Ranma came back last night for a book she left behind and we had sort of a heart to heart."

"No we didn't."

Akane hadn't noticed Ranma-kun in her room and should have remained that way, if the rising anger in Akane had anything to say about it. "What the hell are you doing in my room you PERVERT?!"

"Hey! I'm not the one sleeping with another girl and Nabiki forced me in here." Said Ranma-kun matter-of-factly.

"I thought we should minimize the damage by keeping as many people in the dark as possible." Nabiki supplied.

Clutching the sheets to her bosom, Akane turned back to Nabiki. "But why did you bring **him** in here!?"

"Well, you don't want him to go running around telling everyone you've been sleeping with girls, do you?" Akane frowned at this, but her sister was probably right. If anyone found out, rumors would be flying around Furikan before the end of the day. 

"Tell them to go away, Akane." A groggy redhead started to stir beside Akane. "It's too early to wake up yet. . ."

"Uhm, Ranma. We have company."

"Huh?"

"My sister is in the room and a pervert boy."

"What?!" Ranma-chan did a repeat act of Akane's wake up with a few more results. During the night, she had taken off her shirt and pants to get more comfortable. When she sat up, Nabiki gawked at her proportions, and Ranma-kun barely kept himself from fainting due to a massive nosebleed he procured. "Eeep." She was back under the covers in a flash, not even sticking her head out this time.

Blushing a bit more, Akane turned back to Nabiki, "Could you two give us a moment to change."

Nabiki's first thought was to sell some pictures of Ranma-chan. Her second thought was how crazy her little sister was to sleep with such a dangerous person. Frowning a bit, she decided to give Akane the benefit of the doubt and grabbed Ranma-kun's locked body on her way out.

"They're gone." Akane whispered to the shifting bundle of sheets, trying not to react to the warmth she felt at her waist.

Ranma slowly appeared from beneath the covers to check the room before looking at Akane.

"Blue?"

Akane gasped at Ranma's observation and smacked the girl over the head with a pillow. She could still hear the snicker from beneath the pillow and turned another shade of red.

"So who's the chick with Akane." Asked Ranma-kun once he and Nabiki had settled themselves in the hallway.

"That was Ranma."

"Huh? You mean we've got the same name?"

"Boy, you are a quick one, aren't you Saotome?"

"At least I'm not the one standing in the hallway with nothing on but a towel." Nabiki gasped and looked down at her half naked body and ran for her room.

Ranma snickered. He had been opposed to the arranged marriage as much as Akane had been, but he couldn't argue with his mother. Sure, she was cute, but Akane had a very violent temper. He could still feel the lump on his head where her mallet had struck him. With this new revelation, his parents may be the ones to end this engagement. Things might just go his way after all. 

If not, well, Ranma-kun couldn't deny that Nabiki had a really nice body. It was a good thing she had left before noticing his arousal.

The four met in Akane's room five minutes later, this time fully dressed, bright eyed, and bushy . . . whatever.

"So what are you doing back here Ranma?" Nabiki asked.

"You told me to come."

"I think she's talking to me, moron." Ranma-chan snapped at the boy. "Unless your name is Ranma." It was. There was a little discussion, which resulted in Ranma-kun simply staying quiet while they talked.

"So, why did you come back?"

"I didn't want to, but I had to get my book."

"It must be an important book." There was some skepticism in Nabiki's voice.

"It's true, Nabiki. I think we misjudged Ranma the first time she was here." Akane figured she owed Ranma-chan for the way she had acted last week.

"She brought a gun into the house Akane. Who knows what else she has in that bag of hers." Ranma-kun startled at this. He started eyeing this red head critically. She didn't look dangerous, but he had learned long ago that things aren't always what they seem. She was strong, and from what little he'd seen of her she was definitely a martial artist. It was something in the simple grace she put into every gesture.

"I'm sorry about that Nabiki, but you weren't supposed to find it." Ranma-chan mumbled with her head down.

"What's wrong did I ruin your plans to kill anonymously?!"

"Nabiki!" This time Akane had had enough of her sister's condescending and accusing tone. "Ranma is not a dangerous person. She has a very good reason for having that gun."

"Which is?"

Akane drew a blank. She'd sort of forgot to get an answer about that last night. "I . . I . . Ranma?"

"I'm not supposed to be telling you this, so you better keep quiet. It could get us into trouble." Ranma waited until she had the full attention of the teenagers around her. "I'm on my way to Tokyo-3 to become an Eva pilot. Don't ask what that is, cause I don't know. But great grandmother seemed to think it was very important that I go and help. Before I left the village, a military guy gave me a handgun. He said there were people out here that might try to kill me or something. I refused at first, cause I knew how to use weapons from training, but he said that if these people were close enough to be hit by my umbrella then I would already be in over my head."

Everyone took a moment to digest what they've been told. Nabiki was the first to speak up. "So you are going to be an Eva pilot?" 

"Uhm, yeah, I guess so."

"So what's so special about you?" Ranma-kun had gotten tired of simply listening to the conversation. The girl didn't look all that special. He was still thinking of what she said about her umbrella. He must've been wrong about her being a martial artist. But she was definitely getting angry about something.

"There's a whole lot more to me than you'll ever know, jerk!"

"Ha! As if you could really compare to me."

Ranma-chan stood over Ranma-kun and glared at him. "You want to settle this outside buster!?"

"Forget it." Ranma-kun waved his hand dismissively. Ranma-chan took it as a sign of his cowardice. "I don't fight girls."

Ranma-chan's anger grew but she kept her voice as neutral as possible. "Oh, really."

"Hey I-ugk!" Ranma-chan hefted Ranma-kun by his shirt collar and threw him out the open window. She soon followed under her own power and landed softly by the fallen boy. Akane and Nabiki rushed to the window expecting to see the two lying on the ground, instead they found Ranma-chan and Ranma-kun squaring off over the koi pond. 

"What did you do that for you tomboy!?"

"We're gonna find out if you are filled with as much hot air as I think you are, jerk."

"I already told you I don't fight girls." Ranma-kun kept a defensive stance despite his statement.

Ranma-chan cracked her knuckles, "Get over it." She leapt at the pig-tailed boy, hands clenched and ready to smash him into the ground. 

Her hand passed through air as Ranma-chan swung at her opponent. The boy had ducked and was tumbling over her kicking leg. She snapped her feat together and flipped backwards to land in front of the boy again. Ranma-kun had barely enough time to set up his defenses when the first barrage of attacks came at him. Many of the strikes came within millimeters of hitting him before he was able to raise his arm. After about a minute of this, Ranma-kun was breathing hard and sporting a new line of bruises along his forearms. Ranma-chan took a step back to admire her handy work, not even breaking a sweat.

"Well that was a good warm up, huh? Now what say we really start a fight?" She took an offensive stance and waited for Ranma-kun to reply.

"I . . uh-I"

This fight was going well. Ranma-chan hadn't found anyone that could move as fast or put up with as much abuse as this Ranma-kun was. He was still slower, but given time, he could be a decent challenge. She had to get him into this. "What's wrong Ranma? Afraid of getting beaten up by a girl? Is that why you don't fight girls, cause you can't win?"

"WHAT?!" That's it, get angry kid. "I don't fear nothin!" Ranma-kun took up his own fighting stance. "And I don't lose!"

Ranma-chan smirked and rushed the boy once again. This time, however, he did not just dodge, but fought back with the same skill. Hands and feet flew, loud slaps of flesh against flesh could be heard, but neither of their attacks was getting through the other's defenses. 

Akane and Nabiki had rushed downstairs to watch the fight unfold. But they were having trouble following as the two combatants moved faster than they could follow.

"Akane, can you see what they're doing?"

Akane wasn't able to respond as she watched the fighters. She'd never seen anyone move this fast. Akane had always assumed she was the best, but in one morning two people showed her how wrong she was. 

Ranma-chan flipped in the air and came to rest on the other side of the pond, looking over at her gasping opponent. He was good, but she was far better. Ranma-chan hadn't even gone her hardest yet, but she was hoping Ranma would be able to go just a little further. First, she had to see how far she could push the arrogant boy. "Oh Ranma. It looks like you're tiring. Do you want to give up while you still have some dignity?"

Ranma-kun was doubled over holding himself up on his knees. How could this girl not be tired, yet? Even oyagi couldn't put up as much of a fight as this girl had. What was worse, he could tell she was holding back. 

So lost in his thoughts, Ranma-kun had barely heard Ranma-chan's taunt. As soon as it registered that she was teasing him again, Ranma-kun grew angry. He looked at the smirking redhead with vengeance in his eyes.

Now that's more like it, Ranma-chan thought. I just love a man that doesn't know when to quit.

As Ranma-chan watched Ranma-kun's anger grow she was a bit startled to see his aura take shape around his body. It was red and looked much like the center of a flame.

Hmm, must have hit a nerve. I'll have to remember that one next time. Now this fight gets interesting.

Akane's mouth gaped as she saw the two separate once again after throwing a couple hundred punches at each other. Ranma-chan seemed unaffected by the whole fight, but Ranma-kun, who had been keeping up barely, was gasping for breath like he'd been hit in the stomach with a hammer. From her place inside the house, she could hear Ranma-chan take a jab at Ranma-kun's pride. What was surprising was it got results from him. His body began to glow a deep red. 

This is getting dangerous, Akane thought. I'd better stop them before someone gets hurt. 

Akane paused at the door as a thought occurred to her, how do I stop two crazed martial artists so far ahead of me?

Ranma-chan watched as Ranma-kun discovered his aura for the first time. It really is a special occasion. She may not like him particularly, but at least she had respect for him now. If only she could keep him around long enough, she might be able to help him reach another level in his ability. "Well, Ranma? Are you still too afraid to attack me?"

Ranma-kun's response to this was a roar followed by a jump over the koi pond, foot ready to side kick the girl into tomorrow. 

He was only a couple of feet away from Ranma-chan when her hand shot up and grabbed his ankle. Using his momentum, Ranma-chan flung Ranma-kun into the ground still holding onto his ankle.

Ranma was dazed for a moment, but woke to find himself in a crater, half buried in dirt. To say the least, it hurt. Nothing was broken, but he'd be surprised if he didn't have a full body bruise in a little while. The girl had his left leg in her hand and used it to roll him over.

"Still conscious? That's good. I wouldn't want my new student to fall asleep during his training."

"Hey, I ain't nobody's student." Ranma-kun spat back at her.

"Oh really? Well let me give you something to think about Ranma." Ranma-chan raised her hand, palm facing Ranma-kun. He could see her concentrate a little after dropping his leg. 

Good. Now if I can just get enough time to sit up, I can tackle her into the pond and hold her there until she says uncle.

Ranma never got time, however. A glowing ball soon found it's way to Ranma-chan's outstretched arm. He stared wide-eyed at the ki ball, something he never thought possible. In the next instant, Ranma-kun was hit straight on by the blast and knocked unconscious by the redhead.

Ranma-chan smiled proudly and wiped her hands of the dirt. She absently tossed her pigtail over her shoulder and walked around the koi pond to the Tendo house. 

Akane ran out of the house once the battle was over. "Ranma! How . . . How did you-?" A look of concern grew on her face as she stared at the human crater then turned back to the other girl ready to pounce her.

"He'll be fine, Akane. He's actually the first person I've met that could go so far against me. I hope he reconsiders and lets me train him a bit. I'm sure I could turn him into a good sparring partner."

"What makes you think he'll want to practice with you after the way you just beat him?" Akane growled at the smirking redhead.

"Come on, Akane. He's a martial artist. He may not like learning things from a girl, but I think I've given him a good reason to take me up on my offer."

The two girls started to make there way into the house when Akane realized something else, "Wait! We have to help him."

"Why? I told you he'll be fine."

"Yeah but if my father sees what condition my iinazuke is in, he'll start crying again."

Ranma-chan frowned at this. Iinazuke? "Since when did you get engaged?"

"Uhm. Last week actually. After you left."

Ranma-chan raised her eyebrow and looked at Akane a little upset. "Boy, you don't wait long do ya?"

"Hey, it wasn't like I wanted to get engaged to the jerk! Our parents forced us together!"

Ranma-chan scowled and looked back at the unconscious boy. There is more incentive to having him as a student than I thought. I get to beat the snot out of the guy who stole Akane away from me! No, it wasn't his fault either. Like Akane said, their parents arranged this.

"Do you like him?"

Akane looked at Ranma-kun, lying peacefully in the dirt, anger raising once again. "Like him? I don't even like being near the macho, arrogant, thick-headed, perverted, JERK!"

A small smile crept across Ranma-chan's lips. Kneeling into the impact crater, she picked Ranma-kun up and threw him over her shoulder, barely noticing the extra weight. Ranma-chan walked back into the house heading for the spare room she guessed Ranma-kun had been sleeping in. Walking out of the room, she passed Akane at the door.

In a quiet, affectionate tone, Akane looked at the Ranma-kun, "Thanks, Ranma-chan."

Ranma-chan despaired. It didn't take a genius to see Akane was already falling for the boy even if all she'd done with him was fight. It was in the tone of her voice. Ranma-chan had heard it while Akane had been insulting him. 

Ranma sighed, "I'm gonna take a bath if you don't mind."

Without taking her eyes off of Ranma-kun, "No. Go right ahead, Ranma-chan."

Ranma-chan sighed again and walked downstairs to the bath. Oh well. At least Akane wasn't mad at her anymore. She hadn't meant to confuse the girl so much. Ranma-chan just thought it'd be fun to have a fling with the girl until she had to head over to Tokyo-3 and NERV headquarters. 'I wish I'd just told her the truth from the beginning. Maybe things could've been different.'

"Oh, hello there. I didn't think we'd so you again. Did you just arrive?" Kasumi came out of the kitchen when Ranma-chan finished with her bath. The eldest Tendo daughter never knew why Ranma-chan had left, but she was also thinking of other people at the time. 

"Hi. I'm Ranma. Yeah, I got here not to long ago. I've been catching up with Akane."

"Ranma? How strange. Have you met Akane's iinazuke? His name is Ranma too." Kasumi led Ranma-chan to the table where she had breakfast already set. Mr. Tendo was in his seat reading the paper and sipping on some tea.

"Yeah, I . . I sort of ran into him a little while ago."

Kasumi smiled and set an extra plate down before Ranma-chan before turning to her father. "Daddy, this is Ranma."

Not looking up from his paper, Soun replied, "Yes, I know Kasumi. I was there when they were engaged remember?"

"No daddy. This is not Ranma, this is . . . Onna-Ranma." This could get confusing. 

Soun dropped his paper to look at the small redheaded girl sitting across the table from him. His eyes widened as he inspected the girl. Her hair was tied in a pigtail, she wore Chinese clothes, same eye color . . .

"Ranma, my boy?! What's happened to you!" Soun rushed over to Ranma-chan and held her by the shoulders staring at her body and face. She looked exactly the way Ranma would if he were a girl with red hair. "Did something terrible happen to you while on your training trip? Were you somehow cursed into turning into a girl? Oh, why didn't you tell us sooner?! We should've pushed you and Akane together sooner so we could at least have an heir!"

'Geez, what was with this guy? Curse? Where did he get that idea? A Japanese manga?' 

Ranma-chan blushed a little as she thought of Ranma-kun being pushed to have a child, then replaced Akane's image with her own. 

'Where the hell did that come from?! I don't even like Ranma!'

That sounded a little absurd in Ranma-chan's head.

'I mean, I don't even like that arrogant jerk!' 

Kasumi giggled at her father's silliness. "Daddy. This isn't Akane's iinazuke, this is her friend. They just have the same name."

"What? Are you sure? I could've sworn that- . . I mean I just had this weird feeling of déjà vu that the author was leaving something out."

'Hey! Let's not give anything away! This is my fanfic and I'll tell it the way I want to tell it!'

Everyone in the room stared at Michael and formed a sweat drop on there brows.

"Ahem, yes, well . . nice to meet you Ranma. Hehe." Soun took his seat again and set the paper aside while he ate. "So, Ranma, how do you know Akane?"

After watching Soun begin to eat his breakfast, Ranma-chan felt it safe for her to help herself. "Oh, I met Akane at school a week ago."

"I see, so you share classes with her?"

"Well, no."

"You two study together?"

"Not really."

"You aren't a teacher are you? I heard one of them was young?" Soun eyed her critically once again. "You don't sap people's ki energy do you?"

'What kind of school does Akane go to?! She's attacked by a mob of boys everyday and she has a young vampire for a teacher!?'

"Uhm, no. I'm actually just passing through Nerima and I ran into Akane." 

"So where are you heading to then?"

"Nowhere, just wandering." Ranma didn't want to continue in the direction this conversation was heading. She shouldn't even have told Akane and the others as much as she did. "So, are you the dojo's master?"

"Yes, until my daughter and Ranma, er, her iinazuke marry. Then they will be receiving the dojo as inheritance. Do you study martial arts?"

"Quite a number of them really." Ranma-chan smiled. She liked talking martial arts because it was mainly all she knew.

"You should see Ranma, he's a very talented fighter. Has a good sense of honor to I might say. He doesn't fight girls and he has defended Akane from some challenging martial artists."

"Really?" Ranma-chan was a little surprised that someone challenged Ranma-kun already, but seeing how hectic her life was, she wouldn't dismiss it. "Anyone, I might know?"

"Oh I really doubt it. They were teenagers, not enough time to make a name for themselves. But there was one boy who showed up recently. He was quite powerful. What was his name Kasumi?"

Kasumi swallowed her food and answered, "I believe it was Ryouga, daddy."

Ranma choked. 

'What was he doing here? Why was he attacking Ranma-kun? I thought he would still be with Ukyo. Maybe something happened. Perhaps he is available again.'

"That's right. He even brought his wife along. Ranma had a tough time taking the both of them on."

"Yeah but it was nothing the heir to the style of Anything Goes Martial Arts couldn't handle." Soun praised as Ranma-kun strode into the dining room, clean and presentable once again.

Ranma-chan looked more annoyed than ever at this arrogant boy. 'He beat up Ryouga and Ukyo?'

"I thought you didn't fight girls?"

Ranma-kun sat down at the table and started shoveling food into his mouth. Between bites, "Who said . . I was fighting . . girls?"

"You did. You fought with Kounji Ukyo, right?" Ranma-chan watched Ranma-kun eat and was slightly revolted. Then she became annoyed as she noticed he was stealing food off of other people's plates.

"Yeah . . so?"

"Ukyo is a girl."

Ranma-kun balked in the middle of stuffing his mouth to stare at Ranma-chan in confusion. "The Ukyo I saw was a guy."

"Wore a bandoleer, and a large spatula strapped to her back?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"That him is a her. Ukyo is a cross dresser."

Ranma stopped completely and sagged his head. "Gee, I didn't know that. I hope she's not still hurt." Ranma-chan was beginning to see the depths of Ranma-kun's honor in his views of fighting girls. It was obviously something his parents taught him. Ranma-chan was going to have to break him of this habit. Girls can be just as dangerous as boys and Ranma-kun would have to be able to fight both if he wants to become a sensei. "You don't know where she lives do you? I think I should go apologize, or something."

Soun started bawling when he heard Ranma-kun finish. "Oh, you make me proud boy. That is quite a display of compassion for the weaker sex."

"Father!" Soun was startled by his eldest daughter. Kasumi never raised her voice, she must be upset. "You shouldn't say such things. You know it's not true, not to mention Onna-Ranma is at the table. She is a martial artist too."

"Onna-Ranma?"

Ranma-chan looked over at Ranma-kun and shrugged.

"Nonsense, Kasumi. I'm sure Ranma realizes that she can never be as strong a martial artist as Ranma." Soun beamed proudly at Ranma-kun. "Especially since he has been partially trained by the master of our art. I should think there is no one save the master alone who could beat, Ranma."

Ranma-kun blushed under the praise but scowled when he heard Ranma-chan snicker.

"Oh I'm sure he's quite good, but no one is unbeatable." Ranma-chan said while taking another bite from her plate.

"My poor girl, I'm sure you would feel quite embarrassed if you chose to fight Ranma."

Ok, this was starting to tick Ranma-chan off a little. Looking over at Ranma-kun who was trying desperately to focus on his food, "Maybe we should have another fight?!"

Ranma-kun cringed at the idea of another fight after being beaten not to long ago. Soun didn't notice, "Like I said, the boy is too honorable to dare harm a delicate flower such as yourself, Ranma." 

Ranma-chan screamed in outrage and flung the Ranma-kun into the koi pond. She smiled again when she heard the splash.

Kasumi looked disapprovingly at Ranma-chan. "Now Onna-Ranma that is no way to act in someone else's house. Besides, taking your aggravation out on Ranma was quite misdirected." 

Akane made her way into the room, hearing part of what Kasumi just said. "Ranma, did I just hear you throw Ranma-kun into the pond?"

"Uhm, maybe."

Akane sighed and sat down in the seat next to Ranma-kun's. "Well, he can carry himself this time."

"This time?" Soun looked concerned at his daughter. "You haven't been fighting with your iinazuke again have you Akane?"

"Oh, no daddy. It was Ranma-chan."

Soun sputtered his tea, dribbling some of it down his chin. Kasumi politely offered her father a napkin and smiled at Ranma-chan.

"Why would you do that Ranma?" Soun asked.

"Cause I thought I'd take him on as a student."

"What?!"

Ranma-chan took a moment to look evenly at Soun, "You have done quite a good job with him thus far, but he still has far to go."

"What could you possibly teach him?"

A little irritated, "Well for starters I could teach him to not act like a jerk."

"Ahem."

Ranma calmed a little at Kasumi's rebuke and changed her answer. She extended her hand, palm up and focused a ki ball into her palm. "I can teach him to control his ki. The practice of this alone should improve upon the skills he already has." She watched Mr. Tendo gape at the glowing energy and cocked her head. "Have I changed your mind about the frailty of women?"

Soun's only response was to nod dumbly. "Amazing. Very few martial artists have been able to obtain the ability to harness their ki. You have humbled this old sensei, young lady."

Ranma-chan bowed back at Soun, "Nonsense. Things have a way of changing without our knowing. I just showed you how they've changed recently."

A wet Ranma-kun was walking back into the house and sat down in his seat again.

"Well, I'm glad Ranma has such a good teacher. I'm sure he'll make an excellent student." Soun returned to his meal.

"WHAT?! You're not serious are you?! That fight was just a fluke!"

"Now, now Ranma," Kasumi smiled sweetly at Ranma-kun as he picked up his eating where he left off. "I'm sure Onna-Ranma can teach you many things."

Ranma-kun simmered down at Kasumi's remark. She just had a way with people that rarely required her to raise her voice. Still, this wasn't going to keep him from trying to out maneuver Ranma-chan. Grinning a little he attempted to steal some food from her plate.

Ranma-kun's chopsticks were caught in Ranma-chan's, hovering just above her plate. With a smile at Ranma-kun, she snapped his chopsticks and snatched all the food on his plate and offered it to Akane and herself.

Ranma-kun had barely blinked when Ranma-chan's hands became a blur of motion. In less than a second his plate was clear and Akane and Ranma-chan had full meals sitting before them.

Akane was again surprised by her friend and stared at the smiling redhead. "Wow, Ranma. I don't suppose you could teach me too, could you?"

"I don't know, Akane, but I'll give it a shot."

"Sure, why wouldn't you. After all, you are already planning extra curricular activities with Akane." Ranma-kun quipped.

"RANMA NO BAKA!!"

Ranma-chan grimaced as she heard the mallet flatten Ranma-kun onto the ground. "Well, it looks like you get the first lesson, Akane. Let's finish up breakfast and head over to the dojo. Ranma-kun can catch up when he revives."

Akane smiled and finished up her breakfast as quickly as she could.

Akane spent an hour alone with Ranma-chan in the dojo learning to find her aura. She was having a good deal of difficulty harnessing her ki. When Ranma-kun gained consciousness he headed over to the dojo to work with Ranma-chan. He didn't like being taught by a girl the same age as him, but learning to use ki the way she did was worth swallowing his pride for. For Ranma-kun, learning to focus on his aura and then manipulate the ki only took half an hour. Akane still hadn't gotten a handle on it, but when she saw how quickly Ranma-kun was progressing, her aura quickly flared into existence.

"Alright, you two. We better go outside for this next part." Ranma-chan stood up and led her students into the backyard.

"Why are we out here Ranma-sensei?" Ranma-chan smiled at Akane's attitude. She started calling Ranma-chan sensei shortly after they started.

"This second part is a little more destructive, so it's best if we keep the damage to the house to a minimum."

"So what is the second part, Ranko?" Ranma-kun was another matter. He entirely forgot Ranma-chan was a girl and his age once he got into his training, but he started calling her Ranko because he said it would cut down on the confusion. Still, he was doing so well, she didn't want to make an issue about it. Ranko would rather have a sparring partner.

"I'm going to teach you to focus your ki into something useful like this." Ranko demonstrated the blast she had performed on Ranma earlier during their fight. Her students nodded understanding and waited for her to continue. "Alright, now find your aura like we practiced in the dojo."

Ranma brought his blue flame to life after a couple minutes of concentration. Akane was still having trouble, but after hearing Ranma taunt her a little bit, her red aura returned. Ranko understood that ki required an emotional catalyst. Teaching Akane would be very difficult if it weren't for Ranma. His taunting prompted Akane to become angry, a very strong emotion in her case. Ranko watched Ranma smile when Akane's aura took shape. 

'He must know her anger focuses her aura. Ranma is learning things faster than I ever did, he should become quite powerful.' Ranko also noticed his taunting was a way for Ranma to hide his true feelings. Having seen Akane's feelings for him Ranko decided there were other ways she could help her students. It was better to give up on Akane now while she could still keep the girl as a friend.

"Well done, both of you." Ranko took a moment to bring up her aura. It was blue like Ranma's, but sparkled with golden flashes and was much deeper in color. "Now concentrate on gathering your ki and focusing it into your hands."

This was one of the hardest parts. It required the person to focus their ki using, not muscle, but will power and focus. Sort of like finding your way out of a dark room and only bumping into the walls. Not even Ranma could focus that well the first dozen or so times. Ranko just kept pushing them though, offering advice when she could and helping them regain their aura when the ki dissipated. 

After an hour of trying, Ranma was sweating profusely, but was unwilling to give up. Akane had fallen from exhaustion after the first half-hour; she was now sitting on the ground panting.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Ranma. We have plenty of time for you to master the technique. Why don't you take a break for a while?" Ranko put her hand on his shoulder. His aura had fallen to a gentle glow since training began.

"No . . . I can do it."

Still too tired to sit up Akane cursed at him, "Baka! You've been at it an hour. Do you want to exhaust yourself completely before Ranko-sensei can teach us more?" 

Ranko smiled at Akane but kept her hand on Ranma's shoulder. "It's ok, Akane. Ranma can do this." Squeezing his shoulder reassuringly, Ranko leaned in a little closer to Ranma. "I know you can do this Ranma."

Ranma smiled and blushed slightly at the praise. His aura gained some of its lost strength and he tried once again. Suddenly, his ki disappeared and reformed between his hands. It was small, but it swam with the blue energy that had been around his body.

Ranma couldn't contain his excitement, "Yatta!"

Ranko grinned as the ki dissipated and Ranma turned to her with a smile on his face.

Ranma was overjoyed with his accomplishment. It took him over an hour to do it, but it felt so good to be able to prove himself in such a difficult feat. He couldn't help himself, Ranma grabbed Ranko's hands and danced around a little then picked up Akane by her waist and twirled her in the air. 

Akane was startled when she was suddenly lifted by Ranma's powerful arms and blushed a little when he hugged her. Ranma had obviously missed his fiancée's blush and continued to hug her until he saw Ranko watching with an amused smile. He looked down to see Akane hugging him back and smiling. 

"Yikes!" Ranma leaped out of Akane's grasp and stared at the ground blushing. Akane grew a little upset, but Ranko only giggled at Ranma's bashfulness. Akane calmed down a little once she realized she was also a little embarrassed, but decided to heck with it and started giggling with Ranko.

"Great job Ranma. Let's go inside and rest for a little while and then we'll start again when you are both ready." Akane nodded at the idea and grabbed Ranma by the hand. Ranma, of course, whined a little but followed Akane into the house. "They make such a nice couple." 

Ranko picked up towel she'd been using to keep the sweat out of Ranma and Akane's eyes and tossed it over her shoulder. Ranko thought of her new name and decided to keep it since her new best friends had given it to her. 

Something stirred in the air. Ranko had noticed it before and recognized it as someone's aura. It was close by but they hadn't done anything and Ranko didn't want to provoke them while she was with her students. The last half-hour the unseen enemy had drained away his aura and she had thought they left, but it suddenly flashed once again.

"Hiding won't do you any good. I know you've been there for a while. Why don't you come out and introduce yourself?" Ranko stared in the direction of the dojo roof where she believed her enemy to be waiting.

"I suppose I should." Ranko may not know the aura, but the voice was definitely familiar. 

"Ryouga?" Ranko's face brightened with a smile. What was he doing here? 

"Hey Ranma." Ryouga jumped down from the roof and landed a few feet in front of Ranko. "It's been a while." Ranko jumped into Ryouga's arms and she kissed him on the lips and hugged him hard.

Inside the house Ranma and Akane saw the lost boy jump into the yard. They heard Ranko call for the unseen man and believed she was just tired. When Ryouga jumped down, however, they both rushed to the door and took an offensive stance.

"Get out of the way Ranko. He's dangerous." Ryouga glared at Ranma but smiled at him.

"Come on Ranko!" Akane pleaded. "He and his girlfriend attacked Ranma a few days ago."

Ranko smiled at her students. "Yeah, I heard. Ranma, Akane, this is my friend Hibiki Ryouga." She turned to the man still in her arms. He was setting himself up for another fight with Ranma when Ranko tugged at his collar. "I also heard, Ranma beat you and Ukyo when you guys attacked him. Care to tell me why you were attacking my students?"

Ryouga stumbled slightly and looked back at Ranko. "Students?"

"That's right. They are also my friends and I'd be terribly disappointed if my old friends started fights with my new friends." Ryouga dropped out of his fighting stance and looked at the ground. "Good, now where is Ukyo?"

Ryouga tensed and looked around the house for his love. "We split up to get the drop on Ranma and attack him from both sides."

Further back in the house and loud kiap could be heard coming closer to the back door where Ranma and Akane were standing.

"No! Ukyo!" Ryouga called out.

Ranma and Akane turned around, shocked to see a young man swinging a large spatula at them. Ranma was only able to raise his arm before he felt the wind whipping around the spatula. Opening his eyes, Ranma saw Ranko standing before him, stopping the swing of the spatula with her left hand.

'How the heck did she move so fast? I didn't even know she was here until I opened my eyes!'

Ranko smile at the surprised okonomiyaki chef, "Hey Ukyo!" Leaning forward, Ranko planted a kiss on the cross-dressers mouth.

Ukyo was not expecting to have her spatula stopped so easily. When she saw the red head lean forward and kiss her, Ukyo dropped the spatula in shock. "Ranma! Is that really you!"

"How many naturally red-headed Japanese girls do you know, Ukyo?" 

Ukyo was now ecstatic and grasped her friend in a powerful embrace. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you! Where have you been all this time?"

"Oh, you know, here and there." Ranko turned to look back at Ryouga who was smiling happily at the reunion. "Are you guys going to be sticking around?"

"We are now."

"Great! Let's go inside and catch up!"

Ranma and Akane had relaxed during Ranko's reunion with her friends. Akane felt it was a good time to make her presence known, "So, does this mean you aren't going to attack Ranma anymore?"

Ukyo looked at Akane, confused. "Why would we attack Ranma? We're old friends."

Ranko took a step back from Ukyo to eye her critically. "You know she was talking about Ranma-kun. Now why were you guys attacking my student?"

"Uh, gee, Ranma. We didn't know he was your student." Ukyo offered.

"Ryouga!" Ranko growled. "This isn't some petty thing you're fighting over is it?"

"B-B-But, Ranma. This is a bread war."

"You two are fighting Ranma over bread?"

"Yes."

"Hell no!" Ukyo exclaimed. "He and his father stole my dad's yatai."

"That's not true." Ranma protested. 

Ranko took in Ukyo's angry face. "What yatai?"

"They stole it when I was young. My father offered it as a wedding present when we were engaged. And they just ran off."

Akane turned red and faced Ranma. "You are already engaged!"

"Of course not! Why would my father engage me to a guy?!"

Ranko couldn't hold it in, and giggled. Ukyo and Ryouga looked ready to kill so she cut it short and walked over to Ukyo. "Excuse me, Ucchan." Ranko reached up and undid Ukyo's hair. Then slipped her arms under the chefs shirt and pulled out a length of cloth wrap. "You shouldn't hide your feminine side so much. You are cuter without the boy stuff."

Ukyo blushed. 

Ranma was barely able to recover his jaw, which had dropped to the floor. He remembered what Ranko said earlier about Ukyo, but hearing about it and seeing it are two different things. 

"Come on guys. I think we've got plenty to talk about."

Ranko led everyone into the Tendo home. Old friends making new friends and averting disaster for the most part. Eventually, Ukyo and Ryouga apologized for attacking Ranma, who was only too happy to let bygones be bygones. 

They were so lost in conversation, the group didn't even notice it was dark until Kasumi called them all in for dinner where introductions were made again. Mr. Tendo was so grateful for Ranko teaching Akane and her fiancée how to use their ki, he gladly allowed Ryouga and Ukyo to stay. 

When it was late, they each retired to their rooms. Ryouga and Ranma shared the guestroom, while Ukyo and Ranko slept in Akane's room. 

Ranko didn't fall asleep immediately like the others. Gracefully swinging up onto the roof, she sat stared up at the sky. Ranko kept thinking about the day and how wonderful it had been. Meeting someone as good in the arts as Ranma was a treat for a morning warm-up. Then training Akane and Ranma to begin to manipulate their ki. Ranko blushed slightly when she remembered Ranma's enthusiastic response to learning one of the most difficult beginner's ki exercises. Then having Ryouga and Ukyo arrive finished her day off nicely.

This was a day for her diary to remember. Reaching into the air, Ranko opened a subspace pocket and plucked her diary out. After losing it the first time, Ranko decided keeping it in subspace would keep it safest. It was an old trick she had learned from one of the other outcasts in the Amazon village, Mu Tsu. She pulled out a pen next and started scribbling in her diary. It took up two pages when she was finally finished. Her heart content after releasing all of its emotion. 

Locking the book and pen back in subspace, Ranko stared up at the full moon. On days when she was feeling particularly content, Ranko would forego her tent and sleep under the stars and spend hours staring at the moon. There was something about it, its grace as it worked its way across the sky, or the gentle glow, but whatever it was it brought her a feeling of hope, somehow, even home.

Her hand reached up to stroke its image and felt a slight rush of warmth. A pocket of subspace opened and flashed a golden ray upon her, before closing again. In her hand, a pen. Not the same as the one she'd used to write in her diary. This one was translucent and contained no ink. To one end was a symbol; a large circle encapsulating a smaller one, resting on its edge. Ranko wasn't sure what the symbol meant, but the pen was familiar somehow. She never found it, it found her in subspace. There were memories associated with the pen, but they were old memories. One's she still had problems accessing. Oh, well. There was enough to think about without trying to recall dreams.

"Hey, Ranko."

Ranma was walking across the roof to her, still in his Chinese clothes. Ranko smiled at their similarities. She was sure others had noticed, but no one asked. Ranko hadn't really noticed until she started teaching Ranma. Without thinking about it, she tossed the pen over her shoulder before Ranma noticed it, hiding it in subspace.

"What brings you up here, Ranma?"

He stopped next to Ranko and sat down on the roof next to her.

"I just wanted to apologize for before. I have a way of sticking my foot in my mouth sometimes. Call it a Saotome technique."

Ranko smiled at the joke. "It's no problem, Ranma. I'm just glad I met you."

"You are?"

"Sure." Ranko saw his confused expression and decided to lighten the mood. "I haven't had anything close to a decent fight like ours in a while."

"Well, you know, I am the best." 

Ranko could tell he meant it, and let the arrogant remark slide. You have to accept people for who they were, even for their faults. She sighed and thought about Ranma's aura. So similar to her own, Ranko guessed that if it weren't for her experience, their auras would probably match perfectly. It was based on an emotion the two of them shared intimately. It was why Ranko had fought all those boys at Furikan, and been so open with Akane, and even took on Ranma as a student. It was the same reason Ranma had fought with her as hard as he did and struggled to complete the second ki exercise in one day. Confidence.

Ranma may lack it on some occasions, but give him a couple of years, Ranko thought, he'll be where I am perhaps.

"Say, Ranko."

"Yeah."

"Did you . . I mean . . did you ever wonder why? I mean, about us."

Perplexed, Ranko sat on her elbows and watched Ranma, staring right back at her. She hadn't noticed the color of his eyes before. The were the color of the ocean on a clear day. A deep blue with flecks of black, and she could stare into them all night, exploring his soul, a soul that looked much like her own. 

"The two of us. There's something more than just coincidence. Our eyes, ages, hell even our names. I don't think I'd be surprised if someone jumped out of the bushes and said 'Surprise! You're related.'" Ranma looked back up into the sky, "Probably just crazy, huh?"

Ranko wasn't sure. He had some good points, though he left out they were both arrogant martial artists, but let him discover the source of his ki later. Now, she was really beginning to wonder. Ranko heard about Ranma's training trip earlier that night. Even some of that was a shared path. His father, Genma, had started training him when he was four. The first couple of years, they spent in Japan learning basic techniques in the Art. Then a little while after that, he had taken a trip to the training grounds of Jusenkyuo in China. Ranma said he couldn't remember much from that time, but his father took them to an Amazon village after that. He didn't know why, but they stayed in the village where he trained with various Amazons for three days before a group of old people.

Ranko assumed the group to be the Council. She wondered if Ranma visited while she was there. 

It was strange, but Ranko's memories of those were very similar to his. Hopefully there would be time to find out the truth behind these mysteries.

"I don't think they're that crazy actually." A smile came to Ranko's face, "But don't think that means I'm going to go easy on you the next time we spar."

"Next time we spar, I promise to fight back."

They laughed at their own personal joke and watched the sky a little longer in silence until they were ready to go to bed.

End Chapter Two

Quietly. 

The sun had risen a couple of hours ago, but everyone in the house was still asleep.

Stealthily.

Ranma slept on a futon near the window. He wore boxers and a muscle T-shirt. In a rather amusing way, Ranma talked in his sleep. It was more mumbling and incoherent to anyone trying to listen. He was half way out of the covers, his muscles contracting and relaxing in the morning light. The sight was beyond peaceful. Anyone could see the attraction Akane held for him in this light. 

So peaceful and . . . unprotected.

"YAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Ranma hit the koi pond causing a huge splash. Resurfacing, he spit out the water in his mouth and searched the area for his assailant. 

"Morning." Ranko smiled cheerily and threw Ranma a pair of his black pants when she hopped out of the second story window connected to his room.

"What the hell did you do that for?!"

"Well, I can't have you slacking off now that you're my student." Ranko took a fighting stance a few feet from the koi pond.

Ranma, with his pants on, grinned back and assumed his own fighting stance.

"And remember, Ranma; a promise is a promise." Ranma knew full well Ranko was referring to what was said a few nights ago when he met Ranko on the roof. Since then, Ranko had been 'waking Ranma up' for morning sparring sessions. He didn't feel so bad about fighting girls when it came to Ranko. Probably because, she was a whole hell of a lot better than him, but slowly he was improving.

"Be careful this time, Ranko. You may find yourself in the-"

Ranko didn't give him the chance to finish as she rushed under his defenses and used a Hapkido throw to put him back in the water.

"-koi pond." He finished, spitting out more water.

Ranko giggled and waited for Ranma to get out of the water. Ready this time, Ranma launched his own attacks. Ranko still didn't go her hardest, but at a level where he wouldn't be crushed to continue fighting with her. 

Ranma was very good at fighting in the air, where the two of them spent much of their time due to the need to jump over the pond. Ranko had never been taught much about this particular style of fighting, but found her speed and skill was enough for her to adapt. Ranma didn't realize it, but Ranko used the aerial techniques she saw in his style until she could improve upon them. It didn't take long before she had mastered many of his moves.

The sound of fighting was becoming a normal occurrence around the Tendo dojo. After Ranma arrived, people would come to the dojo, or Furikan, or jump out of a convenient bush to challenge him. No one was prepared for that except Ranma. Then Ranko returned. This ended up being something not even Ranma was expecting. He soon found himself fighting Ranko whenever he wasn't to tired to throw a couple hundred punches.

Ranko was enjoying the daily routine, blissfully. Living in the village, people attacked her, hoping to maim or even kill. She had no friends or people she cared that much for. At the Tendo dojo, she found a family she'd always wanted and she planned on enjoying it as much as possible in the time she still had left. 

Ryouga and Ukyo stayed with them, though they got their own room once Soun found out they had married a couple of months ago. The attic wasn't as spacious as the spare room, but it suited the couple fine. Ukyo had insisted she help Kasumi around the house, and Ryouga assisted Soun with his classes. 

It was quite a wonderful arrangement. Ranko was sad that it would soon have to end. She spent as much time as she could with her 'brother', met his parents, and trained him as well as she could, especially in the area of relationships. Akane appreciated all of the help she could get.

Ranma set Ranko up for another rapid sequence of attacks, which she either dodged, blocked, or turned against him. She pressed him a little more to the end, a twist kick to the gut followed by a jump turning kick to the face. Ranko didn't worry much about it, Ranma was tough and knew how to take a hit.

She taunted him a little during each fight, bringing his aura to the forefront. Ranko had taken to showing Ranma the use of manipulating his ki after an hour of sparring. He would only see a couple of her techniques before he landed in the koi pond for the last time, strangely enough, not long after Kasumi called them in for breakfast. 

"Nice job today, Ranma."

Ranma pulled himself out of the pond once again, squeezing the water out of his pigtail. "I'll get you next time." He smiled at her.

"Yeah."

Ranma stopped ringing the water out of his clothes. Ranko's normal comeback would be much wittier, like 'So you're an optimist now, huh?' or 'We all have dreams, Ranma-kun.' This time her voice was low and a little sad.

"Is something wrong, Ranko?"

"Hmm?"

"You seem a little . . depressed."

Ranko dropped her head some and started heading into the house. "It's nothing for you to worry about, oniisan." 

When she entered the dining room, Ukyo, Kasumi, and Akane were already there at the table. Since Ryouga had started helping with morning classes, Mr. Tendo had begun to sleep in a little. Nabiki, never woke up before eleven during vacation, saying 'she earned it'. From the money Nabiki extorted out of everyone, Ranko decided to agree with her. At least until her debt was paid.

"Morning, Ranchan." Ukyo said brightly.

"Hey, Ucchan. Did you have a 'restful' night?" Ranko teased. It got the desired reaction; Ukyo blushed, almost the same color as Ranko's hair.

"No kidding. If you guys stay for long, I think I'll ask Ryouga to put up some soundproofing." Akane giggled, though a little dreary eyed.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe you could ask Ukyo for tips."

Everyone stared shocked at Kasumi. 

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Ukyo and Ranko got a good giggle out of that. It was Akane's turn to blush, but she soon joined in and giggled herself.

Ranma walked into the house once most of the water was wrung out of his clothes. His shirt was wadded up in his hand. With the water rolling down his body, it looked a lot like he'd been training for a while. The heavy breathing from the sparring match wasn't helping any.

Everyone turned to stare at him, barely holding back their giggles.

Ukyo couldn't take it anymore, "Did you get a good pounding, Ranma?" There wasn't a dry eye in the room as the four girls collapsed with laughter.

Ranma was a little confused, but chalked it up to one word, "Girls." He left the room in search of a bath.

When the girls had settled down a little they began to eat breakfast with the usual conversation, martial arts.

"So what're we doin today, Ranko-sensei?" Akane asked.

Through a mouth full of food, "Careful Akane. Your grammar is getting as bad as Ranma's."

"So is your eating habits." Akane joked.

Ranko swallowed her food and continued, "You still need to practice focusing your ki, so I think I'll show you two how to share you energy. Otherwise you'll get tired quickly again."

Ukyo interrupted a little. "You can share ki?"

"Of course. They are drawbacks though."

"What kind?"

"Well, depending on the compatibility of people's auras, you can soak up only a certain amount of their ki. Like Akane and myself, our auras are different enough that she could probably only accept about twenty percent of the total ki I give her."

Akane seemed puzzled by that. "Why only twenty percent? What happens to the rest of it?"

"You only get about twenty percent because your aura will separate the compatible ki in my transfer that closely resembles it's own. The rest will simply dissolve into the earth harmlessly."

"But, how can I accept any of it? I thought you said that our auras represent our chief emotion."

"That's not quite what I said, Akane-chan. I said you receive your aura mainly from your chief emotion, but there are still underlying emotions in all of our auras. To achieve a solid aura would require you to go insane."

Akane gulped. "I didn't know that."

"I hope you never do, Akane-chan."

Ranma returned to the table, setting himself between Akane and Ranko. After getting a good look at the meal laid before him, Ranma started his daily food-snatching practice. Though, he learned long ago to not try anything with Ranko, he still tried when he thought she wasn't paying attention.

Snap.

"Here are some more chopsticks for you Ranma." Kasumi offered. She had taken to giving Ranma replaceable chopsticks after he tried to steal food from Ranko the first time. 

"Thanks, Kasumi."

Akane took a moment to frown at Ranma's antics, but soon returned to Ranko. "Have you ever seen someone go insane like that, Ranko?"

"Fortunately, no. Though, great grandmother tells me it happened once a hundred years ago." 

"How did she know about it?" Kasumi wondered.

"She was there." Seeing the sarcastic looks she was getting, Ranko explained. "Great grandmother is over three hundred years old. I'm not sure how she's survived for so long, but she's an amazing martial artist. She trained me in my martial arts for the most part. But even great grandmother wasn't good enough to beat someone who had gone berserk. She says that over half of the tribe was killed when someone went berserk in the village. It took hours to bring them down, taking the lives of some the greatest martial artists at the time."

"Wow." Ranma had stopped eating after figuring out what the topic was. "How did it happen?"

"I don't know. He wasn't part of the tribe and I don't think great grandmother told me the truth about the circumstances. I know his aura was mainly green, a symbol of depression in this case. If I had to guess, I'd say someone in the village attacked someone close to the man."

"That's terrible. He killed all those people." Akane sobered a little over the conversation. Ranko wasn't sure if she agreed with Akane. Having lived in the village, Ranko knew full well some of the foolish things they had done because it was their law.

After breakfast, Ranko, Ranma, and Akane left for the backyard to begin training. Ukyo stayed and talked with the rest of the late sleepers then helped Kasumi clean up. Ryouga and Soun finished teaching morning class, only sometimes being disrupted by the sounds of explosions or having to retrieve Ryouga before he became lost again.

"That's good, Akane. Now just focus the ki into ball in front of you hands. Good. Now all I want you to do is give it a slight mental shove. Aim for the boulders by the koi pond."

The red ball floating between Akane's hands slowly began to drift in the direction of the water before falling to the ground at Akane's feet. 

"Yipe." The ki fell, striking Akane's left foot and leaving burn marks.

Ranma was at her side immediately. "Akane, are you alright?" His hands hooked under Akane's arms and helped the girl to the ground. She cried a little at the pain and grabbed at her ankle, just above the burn. Ranma turned on Ranko upset, "Geez, Ranko. Why didn't you warn her?"

"It's alright, Ranma. It wasn't Ranko's fault. I'll be fine." Akane muttered sheepishly between sobs.

"Yeah, now. But that could have been a lot worse."

Ranko kneeled in front of Akane's foot and looked it over. "It's alright, Ranma. Akane can't put that much power behind her ki balls yet." Removing Akane's hands from her ankle, she placed her own hands above the injury. "Hold on to Ranma, Akane. This may hurt a little."

There was actually no reason for Akane to hold onto Ranma. The technique Ranko was about to use would actually not hurt at all for such a minor injury. Still, she was doing her part to help the young couple along. When she saw Akane nod and put her arms around Ranma's neck, still crying, she began.

Ranma watched, fascinated, as a soft white light emanated from Ranko's hands and stretched to encompass Akane's foot. In a manner of minutes the burn was gone. Akane turned around to look at her healed flesh.

"How . . . how did you do that?" Ranma asked, reaching out to touch the repaired foot as if not believing his own eyes. Akane, still had not let go of Ranma and blushed a little as he stroked her skin.

"Once you learn to control your ki, you can use it to do many more things than just causing explosions, though that's the easiest thing to learn." Ranko rested on her legs, a little fatigued. Using ki to heal took more control and energy than anything else.

A little embarrassed, Ranma stopped prodding Akane's foot. "Can you teach us to do that?" 

"I'm afraid not, Ranma. There simply isn't enough time."

"You'll be leaving soon, won't you?" Akane asked.

"I wish I didn't have to, Akane. You should know that I'll never forget you. You've all become like family to me." A tear started to well up in Akane's eyes. She had come to think of Ranko as her best friend. When Ranko leaves, she just knew that some of the joy in her life would leave as well. 

Taking Ranko in her arms, she embraced the red head, "I don't want you to go, Ranko."

"I don't want to go either, but I don't think I could trust anyone else to protect you guys. When I left the village, great grandmother said the journey would bring focus to my destiny. After having met you all, I know what my destiny is now."

"I love you, Ranko."

This time Ranko was prepared. She was not startled or nervous. All of the underlying emotions, which had betrayed Ranko before, were gone, swept out of her soul. When she met Akane, she wasn't expecting much more than a few wild nights, but after living with the spirited girl, Ranko knew Akane had come to mean so much more to her. If she could choose her family, Ranko would have liked to be a Tendo.

"I love you too, Akane."

Ranma felt a little awkward by the display of emotion and wasn't sure if there was something he should do. Ranko had been helping him out with this kind of stuff, but it still didn't come quite naturally. So he decided, when in doubt, be yourself.

Akane and Ranko were suddenly wrapped in two strong arms; Ranma had turned the occasion into a group hug. "Well, I didn't want to miss out on this Kodak moment." He smiled warmly.

The girls smirked and kissed him on either cheek. Ranma blushed and they got a good laugh at that. They held each other for a while longer before reluctantly letting go.

Inside the house, Kasumi and Ukyo were watching the touching scene.

"Our family has been growing quite quickly these past few weeks." Kasumi stated.

"Is that bad?" Ukyo asked.

Kasumi turned around to face Ukyo; she had a tear rolling down her cheek. "Not at all."

Ukyo put her arm around the older girl's shoulder and they walked back into the kitchen.

Ranko spent one more peaceful night with her new family and friends. She taught Ranma as much as she could about his powers and social skills. He was a little reluctant in the latter, but Ranko convinced him that if he applied it to his martial arts, he'd be able to talk himself out of more fights and come out a better person because of it. 

Ryouga and Ukyo told Ranko they would be staying with the Tendos for a little while longer. Ukyo planned on going into the restaurant business with Nabiki's help and that they would probably stay in Nerima. Ryouga was happy to help Mr. Tendo and train with him and Mr. Saotome occasionally. Ukyo had forgiven Genma at Ranko's request and accepted Nodoka's money to replace the yatai rather than kill Mr. Saotome. That didn't stop Nodoka from taking her pound of flesh out of her husband however.

The next morning all was quiet . . . 

"AAAHHHHH!!!!"

. . . for a while.

"Man, I was almost sad that you were leaving!"

Ranko jumped out of Ranma's window and threw him a pair of pants as he got out of the koi pond.

"I can't let you slack off just because I'm leaving, can I?"

"You could try." Ranma grumbled as he tied up his pants.

The fight they had this morning lasted only fifteen minutes. Ranko wasn't going to hard on Ranma, this was just her way of saying goodbye to him. It ended on a lighter note than usual; Ranma was capable of standing on his own. When they were done, Ranko stood before Ranma.

"You're not tired are you?"

"No . . . (huff) . . . I can take . . (pant) . . whatever you can dish out."

Ranko smiled at her brother, she hoped he wouldn't change too much. She rather admired his determination.

"I want you to promise me something."

Ranma took in a deep breath and stood up to his full height, a good head taller than Ranko. "Anything Ranko."

"I want you to promise me you'll continue to practice your ki exercises and learn to master it."

He smiled at the shorter girl. "You know I will."

"And if it's at all possible, try not to get into too many fights with Akane. She loves you ya'know."

Ranma blushed a little at this and looked to where he imagined Akane was in the house. "Yeah, I know. I l-love her, too." 

Ranko grabbed Ranma around the waist and hugged him. "I'm happy to hear that, oniisan."

Ranma let the moment linger for a little while, his arms clasped around Ranko's shoulders. "I'll miss you, Ranko."

"I'll miss you too, Ranma."

Ranko broke her hug with Ranma and picked up her pack she had left in the backyard, anticipating their fight. Ranma followed her into the house where the rest of the people in the house were waiting.

"We couldn't let you leave without a proper send off Onna-Ranma." Kasumi bowed.

Ranko giggled at the first play on her name they had given her and bowed back to Kasumi.

Soun couldn't hold back his emotions and started crying up a storm. "Have a good journey, Ranko."

Nabiki sighed and stepped forward. "I suppose I could drop your debt to me since you're gonna protect the world and all."

"That's so kind of you, Nabiki." Ranko answered sarcastically.

"You didn't owe me that much anyway."

Ranko turned to Ukyo and Ryouga next. "I'm glad the two of you are so happy together."

Ukyo knew of Ranko's crush on Ryouga, but it didn't stop them from being friends a year ago. "Take care of yourself, Ranko."

"We'll be expecting you to visit us when you can." Ryouga commented.

"Whenever I get the chance, I promise." After kissing Ryouga and Ukyo on the cheek Ranko walked over to the gate at the front of the house where Akane was waiting. "I don't know what to say . . I'm glad I met you Akane-chan. I wish there was more time."

"I know." Akane reached behind her neck to unclasp her necklace. "I want you to have this, Ranko. To remember us by."

Ranko accepted the gift and turned it over in her hand. It was rectangular pewter locket with the word family written on it in kanji. She opened the locket. Inside was a picture of the Tendos on one side. It was a few months old; Kasumi was wearing one of her simple dresses, Nabiki had a kimono on, Soun wore his black and white gi, and Akane was down in front, wearing her favorite yellow sundress. On the other side was a picture of Ranko. She guessed it was one of the snapshots, Nabiki had taken of her. She was smiling and talking to someone inside the house.

Ranko smiled, a tear rolling down her cheek. She put the necklace on and held it in place with her right hand. "Thank you Akane-chan."

"You have a family now, Ranko-chan." Akane pecked Ranko on the lips and hugged the smaller girl. "I won't forget you, big sister."

The embrace fell after a moment and Akane ran over to Ranma, grabbing him around the waist. Ranma held her close.

Watching Akane cry a little, Ranko called out to Ranma, "Do you promise?"

Ranma looked at Akane then back to Ranko and nodded, "I promise."

Ranko nodded and looked over her family once more before turning around running down the street.

Everyone watched Ranko until she was no more than a speck. One by one, they all went back into the house, leaving Ranma and Akane, still in their embrace. 

"Goodbye, Ranko." Akane whispered.

"Come on, Akane. Let's go back into the house." Ranma led Akane back in, closing the door behind them.

Ranko bounded over rooftops, making her way into the downtown area of a ward outside of Tokyo-3. Some people gawked from the streets at her apparent ease of doing the impossible. She didn't pay attention to them, though. Her thoughts were set on the Tendos. Her hand was still held over the locket hanging from her neck. Holding back the tears she promised herself to visit them whenever she could.

It took her over an hour to finally locate the address she had been given. There was still some time before anyone would come by to retrieve her. Ranko sat, legs dangling over the edge of a roof, and watched the people going along with their lives. The pack was set down next to her, straining the roof but causing no further damage.

Her diary was still locked in subspace; she pulled it out with an outstretched hand and began to leaf through it.

Ranko recalled each of the instances she had written in it. Most of the book was filled with katas, secret techniques, and even some philosophy. None of it was anything personal, but she knew that when she wrote in it, she had been feeling alone. Ranko didn't like to think about it much, so she turned her diary into a manual for martial arts, but the sadness was all to easy for her to see. 

Ranko skipped many of the front pages until she reached the more recent ones. They started with Ryouga and Ukyo when she met them a year ago. She smiled at her first few pages on that initial encounter with Ryouga. There was a full body picture of him dressed in his usual travelling garb and yellow bandanna. He was never sure if he was going to be sticking around for long with the ease at which he often became lost. 

There was a page devoted to Ukyo. Ranko saw the joy of meeting the okonomiyaki chef, but it turned to bitterness and jealousy when she discovered the girl's desire for Ryouga. Towards the end of the page, Ranko had left a few metaphorical remarks concerning the cross-dresser. Ukyo didn't notice Ranko's anger and believed them to be friends, which they ended up being anyway. If Ranko hadn't been so upset with Ukyo winning Ryouga over, she might have remembered her lessons for making okonomiyaki. Oh well. She probably couldn't make them nearly as well as Ukyo. 

She skipped a few pages written when Ranko had been traveling back to the village after leaving the couple. Ryouga had given her his pack, thanking her for helping bring Ukyo and himself together. Ranko still wasn't sure how that happened since she had been trying to keep them apart and even besmirch Ukyo's name a little. 

The pack slowed her pace down considerably since she wasn't as strong as Ryouga yet. Crossing the sea between the island and China had been tough. Ranko had been set on swimming the distance and had to work extra hard to stay afloat with the heavy pack. Normally, she put her possessions into subspace when she learned the technique from Mu Tsu. The pack had been too big, however. Subspace wasn't meant to hold anything of that size. Ranko found the largest article that would fit was a suit of Amazon battle armor, or what she called a bathing suit made of iron.

Ranko opened up to a page she had written nearly two weeks ago; the first time she met Akane. She took her time, pausing at her etchings of the girl and some of the personal feelings she had left by each one. It was the first time Ranko had written anything so beautiful and romantic. Did Akane read it? It was likely. That was probably why she had forgiven Ranko. 

The next page was written almost a week later. Ranko could remember that week only barely. She had been so upset over being cast out by Akane, Ranko had been barely aware of anything she was doing. Somehow, she ended up in the mountains outside of the city, feeling sorry for herself. In a fit of rage over her stupidity, Ranko started leveling the mountainside. She cursed NERV, the Commander that had visited the village, the Amazons, her great grandmother, her journey, and her meeting with Akane.

Once the anger had left her system, the mountain was much smaller and a couple days had already passed. She hated herself. 

Ranko wanted nothing more than to curl up and die, forget the pain of her life. Skipping meals that day, Ranko stared up into the sky and watched the stars twinkle and the moon slowly eclipse in the sky. 

Honor. 

Ranko watched the sun rise from beneath the waves of the ocean. There would be no peace for her, not so long as she held steadfast to the ideals that made her a good person. Things, Ranko believed, the Amazons and her parents had lacked. She would show them what honor was. Backing down from her duty the world would not solve anything. Ranko wasn't going to let down people just because she had never met them or known them. She wouldn't abandon her duties because they were too tough. Giving in was a weakness she did not have. 

Confidence.

Ranko stood up before the dawning sun, "I am Ranko of the Amazons! The greatest martial artist of my generation! You can not hold me down; I will never give up!" Ranko challenged the day to try and break her. Then she challenged the next. And the next. On her final day in the mountains, Ranko pierced the calm world around her with a scream and raised her ki to new heights, demolishing the area around her.

Ranko sank to the ground, weak and spent, but didn't stay there for long. After a moment, she picked up her pack and returned to Nerima.

The next pages in her diary contained more etchings. This time they were of the entire Tendo family, her family. There were pictures of Ranma, sitting in a horse stance, concentrating on building his ki. She had even gotten to draw Ukyo embracing Ryouga as she watched them late one night, sitting in the living room with everyone else. They were all her family.

Images of Ranma played in Ranko's head. She had known him for only a few weeks, but they had both felt a connection to each other. Neither of them knew what it was, but it was very special. Ranma had been serious when he called her 'sister'. Ranko had thought of him a as a brother ever since.

It was getting close to three in the afternoon when Ranko finally shook herself out of her reverie. Her skin was burning a little under the sun's attention, but it would be gone in an hour. Ranko was thankful for that. 

Down on the street, she could see the crowds had thinned and a red sports car was pulling up to the curb below her. A woman stepped out and leaned against the car. She had long black hair and smooth white skin. A pair of dark sunglasses rested on her nose as she looked around the quiet intersection for someone. 

Ranko, guessed this must be her ride. "Hey!" She called. When the woman noticed her, she continued, "NERV?" The woman nodded and asked if she was Ranma. Ranko nodded back and picked up her pack.

The woman was starting to walk into the building when Ranko told her to wait. Setting her hands on the side of the building, Ranko performed a handstand and flipped down to the sidewalk, avoiding the few pedestrians below her.

"Wow." The woman commented and extended her hand to be shaken. "Nice to meet you, Ranma. My name is Captain Katsuragi Misato."

"Hi, you can call me Ranko."

Misato blinked and checked the bios in her hand. "But it says your name is Ranma."

"It was Ranma. It's a long story, but my name is Ranko now."

"Alright. I guess I should've brought the jeep. I don't think that'll fit in the car." Misato pointed to Ranko's backpack.

"That's alright. I'll just run alongside."

Misato smiled at what she assumed to be a joke. "Ok, I'll just keep at twenty kilometers and hour, that okay?"

"Sure. How far away is this place?"

"About twenty miles east of here." Misato jerked her thumb in the direction and started to grab a hold of Ranko's backpack. "Come on. Maybe we can spread some of this stuff around in the backseat. It might fit if we try."

Ranko kept the pack where it was and shook her head. "That's alright. I told you I can just run alongside your car."

"What? I thought you were joking. You can't run all that distance with this heavy pack."

"That's alright. I don't intend to. I'll just roof hop. It's quicker anyway." Ranko hopped back onto the two-story building and waited for Misato to get back in the car. The woman was understandably skeptical, but got back in her car when she saw Ranko wasn't going to come back down.

'She'll tire out soon and then she'll have to ride in the car. Kids can be so silly when they want to impress adults.' Misato started the car and drove in the direction of NERV. She glanced up at the roofs to see if Ranko was truly following her. What she saw shocked her as being impossible. Ranko was hopping across the roofs faster than she was driving and then looking back to see if the car was still within sight.

Misato decided to go a little faster. 

Again, Ranko kept a faster pace along the rooftops and dropping down to the street when she had to.

'That isn't possible. How can she jump along the roofs like that?'

Misato picked up the pace to twenty kilometers an hour and divided her attention between the redhead leaping on the roofs and the traffic ahead.

They were making good time. Misato gave up on watching Ranko when the roofs became to tall for her to see the girl. 

Ranko was breathing hard, slightly. She was laughing at the woman in her sports car. People always have those funny looks when they watched her roof hopping for the first time. She was still smiling when she felt the roof tremble beneath her feet.

People were screaming and leaving the streets.

Ranko scanned the ground for what could be causing the panic. 'Maybe it's an earthquake. Though I've never heard of one in Japan before.' Ranko was startled out of her thoughts when she saw a foot impact the street causing it to crack. This was not unusual for Ranko, she could do much the same herself if she chose to. What was surprising about the foot was its size. It had to be longer than Ranko lying down.

She tilted her head up, shielding her eyes from the sun, and gasped.

It was a huge, humanoid creature. Its skin, if that's what you wanted to call it, was reddish-brown and glistened with slime that pooled at its feet. It had huge claws, which it was using to tear apart the city. 

Ranko dropped her pack and set herself in a fighting stance. 'This could be difficult.'

Misato stopped the car before she hit a frightened pedestrian. Sticking her head out the window, she was about to curse the near traffic accident when she felt a rumbling through her seat.

The building next to her, suddenly collapsed beneath the pressure of a giant leg. 

Frightened to be so close to an Angel, Misato pressed the gas pedal to the floor, taking off down the street as fast as she could while dodging people on the street. After about a block, she realized she was missing something. Ranko! Misato jumped out of the car and screamed for the girl to come to her.

Ranko found a good spot to begin fighting the creature on a nearby rooftop where she could get off a clean shot. Pulling her hands together and focusing her ki, a sparkling blue aura enveloped the pigtailed girl.

"MOUKO TAKABISHA!"

The blast struck the creature square in the chest and knocked it down the street a couple of blocks. It landed with a large crash, taking down buildings in its wake. Smoke was swimming up into the air where the creature had been hit.

Ranko grinned when the monster didn't get up. Letting her arms fall to their sides, she suddenly felt how tired she was. The blast had taken a lot out of her because of the power she had put behind it, not a lot of power considering her ability, but the run had taken its toll on her as well. The monster was so big, Ranko knew it would take a large blast to knock it down. Perhaps she overdid it a little, she supposed.

Misato dropped her cellular phone in the car and started running around the block to get a better look at Ranko. She had seen the blast, but had no idea where it came from. Misato had been calling NERV to tell the about the Angel and get an ETA for an Eva intercept.

When she saw the Angel thrown across the block, she assumed an Eva had already arrived. All she could find was an exhausted Ranko, resting on her knees, down the street from the down Angel.

"Ranko, are you alright? I knew you shouldn't have let you show off, you can barely stand."

Ranko wasn't ready to argue the point with Misato. She was more concerned with getting her energy back, but accepted the woman's help when she took one of Ranko's arms over her shoulder.

"Come on. We've got to get out of here before that thing wakes up."

"What is it?" Ranko gasped and took in a lung full of air.

"Angel."

"Angel?" Misato nodded. Ranko looked back over her shoulder at the creature she had blasted. "I thought angels are supposed the good guys or something."

"Wrong angel. These are the cause for Second Impact." Just as Misato finished explaining this to Ranko, the creature's hand reached up for purchase on a building close to it and started pulling itself up. "Shit."

Ranko started running alongside of Misato heading back to the car. They were cut off before they could get within five meters of it though. The Angel stepped through the building next to them and sent debris flying through the air in their direction.

Ranko threw herself over Misato to protect her from the heavy brick shrapnel. 

The Angel looked down at the huddled women and pulled back its fist ready to crush them like insects.

"Heads up!"

Loud booming sounds of a large rifle slammed into Ranko like a sudden gust of wind. The Angel could attest that it was no harmless wind however. It shook under the onslaught of bullets hitting it in the chest.

Ranko watched as a giant robot of some sort rushed into the Angel knocking it far away from Misato and herself. It was white, covered with armor plating and held a rifle larger than Misato's car. 

She watched entranced as the machine exchanged its rifle for a sword coursing with energy. 

The Angel saw the coming attack and lashed out with its foot knocking the Eva to the ground. Obviously injured, the creature pulled itself and started to throttle the down Eva. 

"No. SHINJI!"

Ranko noticed Misato calling out to the robot. 'This must be an Evangelion. Shinji must be the pilot. I better help him out, he seems to be in trouble.'

Pushing Misato aside, Ranko ran for the Angel, stopping twenty feet from the fighting. Shrapnel was flying through the air with each strike that forced the Eva further into the ground.

"Ranko! What are you doing?!"

Ranko, however, was to busy building up her ki to pay attention to the buxom woman. There was no way she could take out this thing with a Moko Takabisha, so she was building up her energy to hit it with one of her more powerful techniques.

"KIJIN RAISHUU DAN!"

"Morning Ranko."

Ranko blinked a few times, adjusting her eyes to the light. She was lying in a hospital bed with bandages around various parts of her body. "Oh, my head."

"You got a slight concussion from some flying debris when the Angel collapsed onto a building next to you." Misato was sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed reading another file. She was dressed much the same as the first time Ranko met her, a short sleeved blouse and suit pants. Her hair was pulled back this time, making her look more professional.

"How long was I out?"

"Surprisingly, only a couple of hours. So, do you feel up to telling me what it was you did to that Angel."

"Huh?"

"You know. The whole magic show thing." She waved her hands to demonstrate her understanding, or lack of it.

"It's just something I do."

"You want to go into a little more detail?"

"Not really."

This took Misato by surprise. When she told Commander Gendou about what happened to the Angel, they first suspected Ranko of being an Angel herself. After some tests, however, the doctors were able to ensure the Commander that Ranko was definitely human. They also commented that she was in better condition than we could ever hope to be. Now, having someone able to defy physics, you'd think they'd be willing to boast a little. "Why not?"

Ranko looked over at the wall next to the door. She could feel something, pretty certain it was human, a bunch of them. "You don't seem very trustworthy, to me."

"Excuse me?"

"Why are they hiding behind the wall? Are you trying to study me? I am not opposed to showing off, but I like to know who's watching."

Misato was ready to deny it, but the door opened before she could speak and Commander Gendou walked in, followed by a few scientists and a couple of teenagers.

"How about now, Ranma?" Gendou stood before Ranko's bed, arms crossed, and gave her his best 'Don't-mess-with-me' looks.

Ranko was unaffected by the man's attempts to intimidate her. "My name is Ranko."

"Fine. Now, tell me how you were able to knock the Angel out of commission."

Ranko looked a little hurt. "I didn't kill it?"

"No. Shinji finished the job, but you did knock it out."

"Damn. Was Shinji the Eva pilot?" Gendou nodded. "How is he? Last I saw, he was being pummeled pretty bad."

One of the teenagers was ready jump in, but Gendou cut him off. "Forget about that. Now I want some answers."

Ranko was getting a little pissed at this guy's pushy attitude. Maybe a little lesson in humility would teach him a lesson. "Ask me nicely."

Gendou fumed at Ranko's insolence. Turning on his heel, he walked out of the door, followed by his people minus two teenagers. Ranko stuck her tongue out at the Commander's retreating form. The boy who stayed behind laughed.

"Man, you haven't been here a day and my father already hates you." The boy wore a nametag, Shinji. He sat in the seat Misato had vacated. He was fairly tall, skinny, had dark brown hair, and a smooth lightly tanned complexion. "I'm Shinji." Duh.

"Hi." Ranko watched the other girl standing at the foot of her bed. She was a bit strange, an exotic beauty, but not like anything Ranko had ever seen. She was slightly shorter than Shinji and thinner. She had pale blue hair that made Ranko think of the sky and red eyes. She didn't look dangerous, in fact, Ranko didn't feel much from her at all. The girl just stood there emotionless, a very good Nabiki impression.

"Uhm, I think she's waiting for you to introduce yourself."

The girl turned her head to stare at Shinji a moment and turned back to Ranko, blinking once. "Ayanami Rei."

An uncomfortable silence fell in the room as they each waited for something more to happen. 

"So I guess I should thank you for saving me." Shinji said.

Ranko tore her gaze from Rei for a moment to acknowledge Shinji. "No problem. You two seem like nice kids. I'm glad I did it."

"You didn't want to?" Rei asked.

Shinji looked surprised by the question, he never considered Ranko wouldn't want to help. That would put a damper on their friendship. That is, if it even got started.

"I will always help those in danger. But I was running low on energy, that's why I collapsed after my last attack."

"It takes a lot out of you then."

Ranko knew that the adults had been trying to get answers before, but she felt that Rei was not asking these questions for their sakes. Too bad, if they had sent her in first, they would've got better results. Ranko couldn't feel people on the other side of the wall. Gendou must have stormed off.

"No. Normally I fight much smaller enemies. I just had to increase the strength of my attacks in order to hurt it enough."

"What power source do you draw upon?"

Rei was good at this, but Ranko wasn't sure if she should reveal too much to these people so she decided to change the subject. "So are you alright, Shinji?"

"Uhm . . yeah, I'm fine. After the initial shock, the nerve controls cut out. The Eva sustained some damage but not as much as it would've gotten if you weren't there."

"So that robot you were using, that was Evangelion?"

"Yeah we call it Eva for short. That was actually my Eva unit 01." Shinji commented with some pride.

Ranko took a look around the room a little more closely, hoping to find her things. "Did anyone pick up my pack?"

"Uhm . . no."

"Why not?"

Shinji looked a little sheepish and looked away from Ranko. Rei watched Shinji's reaction curious. "I didn't see it on my way out, but I probably wouldn't have thought to pick it up anyway. When we found out how heavy it was, we didn't have anyone that could pick it up. Do you really run around with that thing on?"

"Sure. It's not that heavy."

"I don't know about that. For a while we were considering taking the Eva back to pick it up but that would've been a waste of the Eva's energy. When you're feeling better we can go back and get it though."

That said, Ranko started pulling off the heart monitor and got out of bed. While they were talking, she had devoted some of her ki to healing her wounds. Except for a slight headache, she was fine.

Rei would've seemed stunned if she could express it. The best she could do is watch Ranko very closely to show her curiosity.

"Speak your mind Rei."

"You seem fine."

Ranko knew the girl was talking about her health, but she thought she'd try to get a reaction out of Rei. 

"You're not bad yourself, Rei-chan."

Shinji started cough a little at that.

"Yes, I've been told as much, on occasion."

Rei walked out of the door, as expressionless as she entered. Ranko stood there blinking for a minute, wondering what just happened.

"She always like that?"

Shinji shrugged and led Ranko out of the hospital ward of NERV.

Rei walked out of the room and waited for the others to follow. Ranko's behavior worried her. She did not act like the other women she had come to know. While Ranko had stayed calm and in control during her conversation with Commander Gendou, her eyes had dilated and her breathing had become slightly more shallow and faster. It started not long after Ranko began talking with her.

There were other things. Rei had noticed Ranko looking at her body and lingering over certain areas. This did not disturb Rei, but normally only men would look at her like that. 

Something that very few people did was call her Rei. Most people called her Ayanami. Rei didn't mind either way, but she had learned that referring to a person by their first name meant you were friends.

"Interesting."

"What's that Ayanami-san?" Shinji walked out of the room with a fully revived Ranko. Rei took a moment to look at Ranko now that she was up and about. She was slightly shorter than herself, fiery red hair tied up in a pigtail at the back, an athletic figure even with her larger breasts, and blue eyes flecked with bits of black. Rei had noticed it earlier, but she never looked at Ranko's Chinese clothing closely. She could see a gold dragon embroidered upon the red sleeveless shirt. Rei wondered if the dragon meant anything special to Ranko. 

Staying silent Rei walked in the direction they were all heading. She wasn't ready to leave Ranko alone until she could learn something more about the girl.

"Is it much farther?"

Ranko had been unconscious when she arrived at NERV so she couldn't be sure where in Tokyo-3 they were. Everything looked the same to her; large buildings, shops, some parked cars, nothing special.

"Yeah, we're just a block up from the building." Shinji replied while watching Ranko.

She had been keeping busy walking on fences surrounding the large corporations in the area. The current fence was nothing more than iron spears held together by long iron railings.

"Why are you doing that?" Rei asked. She also had not taken her eyes off of Ranko. 

Stepping from the point of on spear to the next, Ranko replied calmly, "Balance practice."

That seemed reasonable to Rei. The fact Ranko had not hurt herself or fallen off one of the sharp points spoke of her skill.

Running out of fence, Ranko flipped once in the air to land softly next to Rei and continued to walk normally until they reached the building they were looking for.

"This is it." Shinji commented. "You want me to come up and give you a hand with it?"

Ranko shook her head and looked up at the building. It was three stories high, too high for her to jump up. Across the street she saw a window ledge on the second story of the building there. Ranko winked at Rei then ran halfway into the street before jumping up to the ledge and performing a back flip onto the roof where her pack was waiting.

The pack hadn't been disturbed beyond what Shinji had told her. Someone had tried unsuccessful to pick up the pack and caused a few scratch marks on the roof. Ranko did a quick check on her pack anyway. Everything seemed to be there, including the handgun. She sort of wished that had been taken. She'll just have to get rid of it when she returned to NERV.

With the pack on her back, Ranko made her way back to the ledge and hopped back down to the sidewalk.

"How did you do that?" Shinji was looking at Ranko like she was the true prophet.

"Yes, that should be humanly impossible." Rei still didn't look surprised, to Ranko's disappointment. 

"I told you, it's just something I do. Should we go?"

Shinji nodded slowly and started following the girls back to NERV. 'Wow, the pack is huge. I remember them telling me that it took four guys just to budge it. She must be really strong.'

Rei looked back to Shinji who had been very quiet since they started walking back to NERV. He seemed alright but he was fixated on something in front of him. She thought it might be the pack Ranko was carrying with such ease, but his eyes were set lower than that. Rei followed his gaze and only saw the girls black Chinese slacks.

Ranko blushed a little when she noticed Rei looking at her butt out of the corner of her eye.

'Rei really is exotic. Just as exotic as a redheaded, blue-eyed Japanese girl.' Ranko chuckled to herself as she realized that Rei and herself were exact opposites, but kept it to herself. A catch phrase did run through her mind the rest of the day, though.

Opposites attract. 

"What are you doing?"

Rei was a nice girl, polite and a fairly quiet inquisitive disposition. But Ranko was starting to get a little ticked at her. Always starting her conversations with the same question. It was something Ranko was going to have to break her of. Good thing Ranko never got into Amazon mentality or she might have broken many of these annoying people a while ago.

Ranko was in the middle of performing a rather technical mid-air kata. She developed it for herself, to incorporate many of her talents for practice in an organized fashion. The people who see her working out often comment the kata reminds them of a deadly form of ballet. Hopefully, those were compliments. One thing Ranko didn't like is being called weak. Ballet seemed pretty weak to her.

Kick, strike, flip, strike, sweep, jump, kick. Ranko continued her exercises as if she hadn't heard Rei. Maybe if she stayed silent, Rei would try a new tactic. One could always hope.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" 

Paydirt. 

Ranko's primary reaction to food was to stop everything and get to the dining table. Landing softly, she was about to appease her grumbling stomach when a memory of the cardboard they had fed her yesterday came to mind. Not as bad as Akane's was, but it definitely didn't sit high on her list of wants and desires.

Rei was very perceptive. For the last couple of days she watched Ranko, piecing together a puzzle to no avail. She did learn the pigtailed girl has an insatiable appetite. The look in Ranko's eye told her of the disgust she was feeling to eating NERV's food.

"There are many restaurants in close proximity to NERV headquarters if you want something else."

"Well," Ranko had a mischievous glint in her eye. "This is sort of sudden, but it's a date." With a wink, Ranko picked up a towel from one of the benches in the courtyard and started heading to her room. "I'm gonna take a bath. Pick me up in half an hour." Turning around at the entrance to one the buildings, "Oh, and Rei, try wearing something other than your jump suit." She slipped passed the door after giving Rei a lazy wave.

Rei blinked twice. To anyone who did not know Rei, they may consider this normal, however, anyone else would see this as the biggest show of emotion from the girl, without being prompted.

"Date?"

There was nothing particularly special about the restaurant. It had a fairly simple lounge décor; potted plants, white walls, and the regular table with place settings. Not very interesting and the food was rather poor, but it was better than eating in the NERV cafeteria. Ranko wasn't going to be staying on NERV grounds much longer. She would move in with one of the women she met earlier so they could keep an eye on her. It would be a relief to get away from the facility where they had been performing tests on her to understand her powers and her abilities inside an Eva.

Rei had done as Ranko had asked and was now wearing a pair of blue jeans and a 'Harley Davidson' T-shirt. 

"What did you want to talk to me about, Rei?"

"I was curious about how you can perform such impossible physical feats." Ranko continued eating. That was all Rei had been really asking her about since she arrived. She didn't feel much like discussing her abilities again with Rei so she tried to end the conversation as quickly as possible.

"I'm a martial artist."

"That doesn't explain much."

"It explains plenty." Rei stayed quiet and analyzed Ranko's answer. "Let's talk about something else."

"Why?"

"Well unless you are really trying to give my ego a boost, all we've talked about for the last week has been my 'humanly impossible' feats." She ended the last part with a fair impersonation of Rei.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know, how about you? Where were you born?"

"Here."

No more information was forthcoming so Ranko did her best to trudge on. "Who are your parents?"

"What?"

"Parents." Rei puzzled over that one for a moment.

"I don't have any parents. I am the genetically engineered combination of Commander Gendou's lost wife and an Angel. You might also consider me the child of the first Ayanami Rei."

"What do you mean the 'first Ayanami Rei'? And how could the Commander's wife have a kid with an Angel?"

"Put simply, I am an artificially created being and a clone."

"Is that why you don't have any emotions?"

Rei blinked and thought about this question. "That is a fair assessment."

"Rei, did you even have a choice in becoming a Eva pilot?"

"It is my duty to be an Eva pilot."

Ranko set her fork down in her plate of pasta and looked at Rei hard. "They never even asked did they? They just made you and forced you to become their slave."

"In a manner of speaking." Rei had never really considered herself a slave, more a soldier with a duty, but she could understand Ranko's conclusion. "Why does this concern you so much?"

Ranko was livid. What sort of bastard can play god with people's lives? She wanted to throttle the asshole.

"Weren't you forced to become an Eva pilot much the same way?"

"That was different. My great grandmother told me to become a pilot, but I could've refused. You were programmed to do what you were told."

"I am also capable of learning and changing. If I discover a reason to leave, then I would do so." 

"Really, are you sure? How long have you been here?"

"Two years."

"And in that time how many new emotions have you learned to use?"

Rei thought a moment. "What significance does that have?"

"Rei!" Ranko breathed, aghast. "Emotions are very important. They help define our attitudes and personalities. They are also a great source of power."

"Power? Are you referring to your ki?"

Ranko suddenly seemed nervous and looked around the restaurant to see if anyone had heard. "I don't think we should talk about that here."

Rei stood up and waited for Ranko to follow.

"What are you doing?"

"Going someplace else where we can talk about this."

"Now?" Rei watched Ranko staring at her. "Guess so."

Rei left a tip on the table and enough money to cover their meals. Leading Ranko out of the restaurant, she started heading down the street to her left, making a couple more turns until she was walking up the stairs to a two-story house.

"Is this your place?"

"Yes."

"You living with anybody?"

"No."

"How much wood would a wood-chuck chuck if a wood-chuck would chuck wood?"

Rei stopped just inside the entrance to her home. "What?"

"Nothing." Ranko took a look around the living room. There was very little in the way of furniture. "Nice place."

"Can we talk about your ki now?"

Ranko frowned, but she knew this is what Rei had brought her to her home for. "Shoot."

"How do emotions create power?"

That was a difficult one to answer. Ranko tried attacking the question a couple different ways without success. After ten minutes, Ranko had found herself sitting on the stairs to the upper floor of Rei's building with a frustrated expression, looking Rei in the eyes from where she stood. Sighing, Ranko extended her hand palm up and concentrated a little.

Rei watched as Ranko closed her eyes for a moment and a blue ball of energy manifested itself, hovering over Ranko's open hand. It was the size of a baseball, the energy swirled and sparkled within the area of the sphere without dissipating. Cautiously, Rei drew closer to the ball of light and extended her hand. She looked up for confirmation before touching it.

Ranko watched Rei study the energy, glowing eerily off of her pale features. Ranko nodded and Rei gingerly ran her hand across the ki.

She fell to her knees on the floor and grunted in pain as she crossed her arms across her body. Ranko let the ki fade and dropped beside Rei, trying to comfort the shaking girl. Rei's body went limp in her arms, unconscious. 

Ranko had never seen that happen to anyone touching ki. She wondered what was wrong with Rei. Could it have something to do with Rei's inexperience with emotions?

The girl felt very light in Ranko's arms. Carrying her up the stairs she found Rei's bedroom on the left and placed her on the bed. Her breathing was normal and her pulse had returned to leveled off soon after she collapsed. Ranko needed to call NERV and tell someone what happened. Something could be wrong with Rei that she didn't know about. She found a cellular phone hanging off a clip on Rei's pants. Flipping it open she dialed the first number on its memory.

Ranko hadn't been given a number to call in case of emergencies, she hoped Rei would put NERV at the top of her list.

A boy answered. "Hello?"

"Shinji?" Why was he first? Rei must like him.

"Ranko?"

"Yeah, I need some help. Rei feinted." A small lie, but she wasn't sure how to explain this to anyone.

"Feinted? Where are you? Is she alright?"

"She seems to be fine, but we should get someone at NERV to take a look at her to be sure. We are at her house."

"I'll give someone a call, then I'll be over there in a couple of minutes."

"I'll be waiting." Shinji hung up. Ranko closed the phone and set it on a nightstand next to the bed.

Shinji arrived about the same time as the NERV paramedics. After checking Rei's vitals, they put her into a gurney and took her to the hospital ward at headquarters. Shinji followed but Ranko went back to her room to lie on her bed.

The doctors said she was fine and just needed some rest. They said she had some sort of shock which caused her to collapse, but there was nothing else wrong with her. Ranko didn't know what to do. Did she hurt Rei? She felt bad and wanted to help the quiet girl, but how? 

A few hours later Ranko returned to the hospital ward with a bundle of flowers. It was cheesy but it was the best she could come up with. Hopefully Rei wouldn't be upset with her. 

Before she could enter Rei's recovery room, strange moaning sounds leaked out beneath the door. Ranko was ready to rush in if Rei was in trouble, but stopped when she heard another moan. This one was deeper, more masculine. 

'What the hell?!'

Ranko put her ear to the door and listened as closely as she could. What she heard did not please her.

Rei spoke in a sultry tone. "Oh, Shinji." It was followed by more moaning. 

Ranko turned, angry and disgusted, and left the hospital for the training building. On her way out, she threw the roses in a garbage can.

Inside the recovery room, two teenagers parted after a second passionate kiss. Rei was sitting up in her bed and holding Shinji to her lips with two hands placed on either side of his head. Shinji was surprised and hadn't reacted to the first kiss, just waved his hands out to his sides.

"Oh, Shinji." Rei parted after a moment to catch her breath and look into the boy's eyes. He was confused, but a smile slowly formed on his lips and they kissed again. This time he didn't hold back and wrapped his arms around Rei's waist.

When they finally parted, Rei collapsed onto her pillow, content. Shinji blinked a couple of times, memorizing the way her lips had felt on his. With shaky knees he sat back in his chair and stared at Rei.

"What was that for?"

Rei smiled and touched her fingers to her lips. "I don't know. I just wanted to do it."

"Are you feeling alright?"

Her smile grew a little more. "Wonderful."

Sweat was rolling down Ranko's brow as she entered her third hour of training. After hearing Rei and Shinji together, she had gone in search of a fight. She stopped first in one of the martial arts dojos on the fifth floor, a red battle aura coursing around her body. The few people in the room, stared at her nervously and ran when she took a step closer.

On her way into another training room, this one a weight lifting room, NERV guards intercepted her. They were each carrying semiautomatic rifles, all aimed at her.

"Put down those toys." Ranko snarled.

"They won't do that." She turned to the voice walking through the guards. It was a large man with short brown hair, well muscled. "You want to tell me what's wrong."

Ranko faced off with the guards, many of whom looked unsure as they watched her red aura burn around her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Kaji."

"Do you know how to fight, Kaji?" Ranko strained to keep her voice at a moderate level.

Five minutes later Ranko and Kaji faced off in the dojo. Ranko hadn't dropped her battle aura because she wasn't interested in fair play at the moment.

Kaji started his assault. His right hand swinging out to connect with Ranko's face, but she was gone a second before. A savage blow hit Kaji in the solar plexus, followed by two more uppercuts, knocking the air out of his lungs.

Ranko grabbed one of Kaji's arms and tossed him across the room to land on the ground across the room after sliding off the wall. As he began to stand up, Ranko moved in for a one-eighty hook kick.

The fight was over too quickly. Kaji landed in a heap in another corner of the room and blacked out. Ranko screamed in anger then focused the rest of her attention on a punching bag hanging from a chain. She pounded on it for a good five minutes before one of the chain links snapped under the strain. Ranko followed the bag and continued to hit it after straddling it between her legs.

Ten minutes later, the bag was torn to pieces casting its contents across the room. Ranko heaved in her attempts to get herself back under control. Her aura eventually died and she rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling.

"Man, and I thought Asuka had bad hissy-fits."

Ranko looked over to Kaji who was sitting on one of the dojo's benches, cradling a throbbing headache.

"Are you okay?" Ranko asked politely.

"I'll be fine if I don't have to get into to many more fights with you." 

"Sorry about that."

"You are Ranko, aren't you?"

"That's me. What of it?"

"I was told you are the new Eva pilot."

Ranko sighed. "Yeah, they tell me that too."

The intercom system suddenly sounded and a pleasant female voice asked for Ranko to be ready for her Eva testing.

Ranko stood in a strange tube, wires connecting to her body, and surrounded by water.

"We'll be starting in just a minute, Ranko." The same voice she heard on the intercom spook to her from an unseen speaker. The woman behind the voice really stood in a booth watching scientific equipment monitoring the test.

"So how many more of these tests am I gonna have to take?" Ranko was getting a little frustrated. She had been dealing with these boring and long tests most of the week. 

"This will be the last test today. Just try to stay calm and this will all be over soon."

"Stay calm!" Ranko gave the booth an ugly look. "You've got me trapped in a test tube filled with water and you want me to stay calm!"

The people in the booth began moving frantically to finish the test preparations. Most of them had heard of Ranko's abilities and were a little nervous to be around the girl, especially when she was angry.

"We're ready now."

Jets of water could be felt rushing along Ranko's body as she concentrated on finishing the test.

"Wow." One of the junior scientists was reading the data pouring in from Ranko's sensors.

"What is it?" Ritsuko asked looking over the man's shoulder.

The young man checked the readings again then turned to Ritsuko. "She has a sync rating of ninety-eight percent. We've got something of a prodigy on our hands."

"Fascinating." Commander Gendou had been watching the test from the back of the room. He didn't like Ranko, but he wasn't about to kick her out unless she failed the tests in some way. When she passed each one with higher scores than any of the previous children, he cursed his luck, but was also grateful to have found her. "Schedule an Eva practice run for her tomorrow at eleven hundred."

"Yes sir." Into the intercom, "Thank you, Ranko. You can go now."

Ranko ripped the sensors from her body and snarled her impatience for the tube to be lifted.

Shinji and Rei were waiting for Ranko outside of the changing room. Rei wore her regular jump suit and Shinji was in his regular attire. Nothing seemed to be different between the two except for the handholding and the shared smile.

Ranko walked out of the changing room and took one look at the two and started walking in the other direction.

"Hey Ranko, wait up!" Shinji called, pulling Rei along with him to catch up to the pigtailed girl.

Not bothering to hide the hostility in her voice, "What."

"Uhm." Shinji was suddenly unsure of how to broach a conversation with a girl who seemed ready break him in half. Fortunately he didn't have to.

"I was wondering what it was you did to me?" Rei asked calmly.

Ranko looked a little guilty for a moment. "How are you feeling, Ayanami."

Rei paused a moment as she considered why Ranko was referring to her by her surname. "I'm fine, Ranko. That's rather what I want to talk to you about. When I woke up a few hours ago I was suddenly able to feel, feel emotions."

"I'm glad."

"So am I and I think I have you to thank for it."

"It was the ki. Based on emotions, you were probably suddenly overwhelmed with feelings you've never had before."

Rei nodded. "That's what I guessed as well. I collapsed as my mind was attempting to analyze all these new emotions and fit them into my mind. When I finally woke up, I was filled with such happiness." Ranko smiled at Rei and couldn't help but feel good upon hearing the playful tone in Rei's voice. "I was so glad when I was able to express my first emotion with the man I love." Shinji turned red with embarrassment while Rei continued to hold his hand. Ranko eyed the couple with venom, but soon lost her anger when she saw how happy Rei was. "Where are you going now, Ranko? Would you like to get dinner with us?"

"No thanks, I'm . . . tired." Ranko gave Shinji one last evil glare and went in search of a hot bath.

"What do you suppose her problem is?" Shinji turned to Rei, who was looking a little concerned herself.

"I'm not certain, Shinji-kun."

Ranko soaked in her tub for a long time. People stopped by and knocked at her door, but she just let them believe she wasn't in. She lay in the tub, her head resting on the back wall with a washcloth draped over her eyes.

Ranko was seeing her whole life beneath that washcloth and she didn't like it. It had all been one tragedy after another. She didn't even know why everything was so screwed up. Things should have gotten easier when she left China. In the village know one paid attention to her, so she was no stranger to being alone. They hated her and she hated them. Ranko was hoping to find her life in Japan, a happy life where she could spend her time in the arms of a loved one. Things were supposed to start going right, so why wouldn't they? First she meets Akane and thinks she has lost her heart to someone. She did lose her heart, however, it was ripped right out of her chest when Akane turned her away. After five days of frustration, Ranko returns to find Akane has forgiven her, but she was no longer available. Taking her frustrations out on Ranma had been just what she needed. He was a pretty good fighter and turned out to be a real nice person, even if he was a little egotistical. As things in her life were beginning to settle down once again, Ranko had to leave for NERV. What a bad idea that had been! The first real meeting with these people had left her so agitated she had snapped at the Commander and refused to talk to anyone about her abilities. Rei and Shinji had seemed like nice people, they still were really. Ranko was just hoping that Rei hadn't . . . but it doesn't matter now. That was two down and the third time is the charm, right? That's what they say anyway. 

Ranko sighed and sank deeper into the tub. 

The door knocked again. Whoever was outside was persistent. They must have been there for fifteen minutes already.

'Just forget it, Ranko. You've had enough for one day.'

"Ranko?"

Ranko dropped the rag and gasped in shock. That voice was familiar. She wrapped a towel around her body and ran out of the bathroom. 

The door opened and a dripping wet Ranko answered the door with nothing but a towel and a smile.

"Ranma-kun!" 

End Chapter 3

After a short embarrassing scene involving a passing janitor and a fallen towel, Ranko invited Ranma into her apartment and ran back into the bathroom to change. She came out a moment later, wearing her usual Chinese clothes and her hair tied into a pigtail in the back. Ranma was dressed much the same, oddly enough they both wore the same color shirts making them look like real brother and sister. 

"What brings you here, Ranma? I've only been gone a week, you couldn't have missed me that much." Ranko sat down on the bed facing Ranma, who was sipping tea and sitting in the chair in front of her small desk.

"Actually, I've been recruited."

"What?! But you can't . ."

"Huh? Why not?"

"What about Akane? She can't be happy with you so far away. Besides, this could be really dangerous, what if you died before you and Akane . . ."

"It's okay, Ranko. Akane and I are gonna move out here. The Commander had no problem with it, course I got to take some tests first to make sure I qualify. You taken them yet?"

"Yeah, it's not something you can study for, really."

Ranma seemed a little relieved that he wouldn't have to study, he barely liked the school stuff he had to deal with at Furikan. "So, this is where you live?"

Ranko took a small look around the apartment. It was sparsely furnished: a chair, desk, nightstand, and bed. She was glad it came with its own bath, communal bathing had no charm for Ranko ever since she left the Amazons. "For now. I'm supposed to get a real apartment after tomorrow's practice run. For a while there I was afraid they were going to put me with Misato, but Shinji is already living with her."

"Shinji?"

"Oh, he's one of the other pilots. Nice kid, bit of a dope though. You find out where you and Akane are going to be staying yet?"

Ranma looked a little nervous and scratched the back of his head. "Uh, actually, Akane won't be coming up until this is a sure thing and, uh, I'm supposed to live here until then." The room suddenly seemed to shrink as he thought of sleeping in the same room as Ranko. Sure, he considered her a sister, but they weren't really related. And as often as he tried to not notice, Ranma sometimes caught himself looking at Ranko. She was rather kawaii.

Ranko frowned and looked around the small room. "Why would they do that, this room isn't made for two."

"Uhm, I think they believe we're brother and sister."

"Ranma?"

"I sorta let it slip that you were my sister and they didn't listen to me when I told them we weren't related."

Ranko sighed then made a wicked smile. "Well, at least I'll know where to find my student."

Ranma laughed, that seemed to relieve the tension. As soon as the initial embarrassment passed, Ranko had no doubt Ranma would soon be more comfortable around her. If you couldn't be comfortable around your sister, then who?

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Falling four hundred feet to the ground in Ranko's arms was not the nicest way to wake up. She didn't seem to upset over the fact, but Ranma was terrified and clutched onto her for dear life. Ranko smiled at the hug he had around her waist. The ground closed into a hundred feet; that seemed close enough. Ranko concentrated a little once again and there decent slowed until they were hovering a foot above the ground.

"Phew! That was fun, huh Ranma?" Ranko released Ranma who fell screaming the last foot to the ground, his eyes still closed tight.

When Ranma impacted the ground, he was startled to note how little it had hurt. His eyes blinked amazed that none of his bones had been broken from the fall. Except for a light scrape on his hands, he was perfectly fine. Ranma looked around to find out how he had survived. Ranko was still floating a few feet above the ground, grinning at him playfully.

"You can fly?"

"You tell me." Ranko started performing mid air figure eight's and a few corkscrews. 

"Why didn't you tell me?! You scared me half to death!"

Ranko landed lightly beside him and helped Ranma to his feet. "Now where would've been the fun in that?"

Ranma sighed at Ranko's playful attitude. "So what did you drag me out here for anyway?" The area was a fairly large clearing, a sort of large park within the Tokyo-3 geofront. 

Taking up a sparring position, "Need you ask?"

Within NERV ops, Ritsuko was suddenly jolted out of her boredom as panels around her chair started to light up, sirens sounding, and big flashing lights. 

"Holy shit, Captain Katsuragi, to ops. ASAP!"

Ritsuko watched as more sensors verified the first. 

'Shit. Shit. Shit. This can't be happening.'

"What is it? What's going on?"

Ritsuko didn't take her eyes off the screen in front of her. "We've got two AT fields registering inside Tokyo-3. One of them is registering a level 8, the other is at 6!"

"Could it be an Eva you're picking up?" Misato made her way to one of the control boards next to Ritsuko.

"They are all powered down! These spikes are right outside headquarters!"

"Shit." Misato reached over to the com and sounded an Angel alert. "Give me a visual, let's see what we're up against." Ritsuko brought up an image on the wall ahead of them. It was a wide-angle view of the geofront. With a few zoom jumps, the image was focused on two targets outside the NERV pyramid. The targets were hard to make out, surrounded in similar blue flames. They flew erratically from one point on the ground to the other, sometimes making contact and flaring a little brighter.

"What the hell? Call off the Angel warning and get the Commander. Start recording as much of this as possible." Misato scowled at what she saw. Damn kids.

Strike, parry, parry, strike, strike, kick, strike, kick, parry.

"Hey Ranma."

Kick, punch, strike, parry, dodge, block, punch, strike, dodge.

"Yeah?"

Ranko jumped back from Ranma to give them a little break while she talked. "You've improved quite a bit. Let's see how strong you've gotten." It was true, in only one week Ranma had learned to generate more ki energy to enhance his attacks and defenses. Ranko wondered if he had learned to duplicate the simple blast she had shown him.

"Sure. What should we use as a target?"

"Just hit me with all you got."

"Uhm, are you sure? This did quite a number of the boulders in the backyard."

Ranko smirked; he had no idea. Good, it'll make him work that much harder. "Don't worry, the rocks weren't reinforced with ki."

Ranma had learned not to make any doubtful remarks when it came to Ranko's abilities. "MOKO TAKABISHA!"

A blue ball of energy the size of a soccerball was hurtled at Ranko. Though, to her, it wasn't very fast and when it hit she decided, not very strong either.

"Not bad, Ranma. It's actually very good considering you haven't been playing with your ki until recently. Still you should know something."

Ranma was out of breath and resting on his knees, sweat dripping off his forehead, "huff . . . what's . . . puff . . . that?"

Ranko concentrated a little harder. "Kyahhh!!" The blue flame around Ranko suddenly burst into the air, ten times larger than it had been before. Ranma gasped as he saw Ranko's aura sparkle with golden flecks of electricity, her hair and clothing rippling in the air from the energy rushing around her.

"When you get this strong, you'll start to be a real match for me." She smiled at Ranma's astonishment; he grinned back as Ranko gave him a goal for him to reach. Ranko knew the size of the aura could be manipulated even at Ranma's level, but the symbolic meaning was there without her having to really show Ranma her full strength.

"Ranko!?"

Ranko and Ranma turned to the source of the voice. It was Misato and she looked angry. A hard thing to do considering how lively and playful she usually was. Ranko dropped her aura and watched blankly as Misato finished her climb up the hill to their position.

"What's up Cap?" Ranma was still getting his breath back and only waved as Misato reached them.

"What's up?! Do you know how many emergency alarms you set off with your damn fireworks?!"

Ranko still looked a little dumbfounded. "I did? But Ranma and I only hit each other with our ki attacks, I don't see how I set off a fire alarm."

Misato stood in front of Ranko, hands on her hips. "It wasn't the fire alarms. You and your brother set off the Angel warning sensors. We thought we were under attack."

Ranma had gotten back enough of his strength and was walking over to the two girls. "Why would it think we were Angels?"

Rounding on Ranma, "You two were giving off huge AT fields, why else?"

"AT? I thought we used ki, Ranko."

Ranko thought about this a moment then shrugged her shoulders and looked at Ranma. "I suppose ki and this AT field have similar energy patterns. I hope we didn't cause you too much trouble, Misato. We were just out training."

"Wait." Misato eyed Ranma closely. "You two said you weren't really related, right?"

"Yeah." Ranko replied. "Why?"

"Well, the two of you were training with ki and you look very similar." Misato brought Ranko next to Ranma and took a closer look. "In fact, the two of you look like twins."

"Twins?" The both chorused. Twins? That was a laugh. 

"Maybe you should get your eyes checked." 

Ranma's comment irritated Misato, but she couldn't get over how similar the kids were. Maybe I should look into it, she mused.

"Anyway, don't you think it's about time you explained to us about your abilities, Ranko?"

Ranko thought a moment, "I suppose, but I gotta worn ya. We aren't guinea pigs, you try something we don't like, and you'll have a whole lot more trouble than Angels."

That seemed to be as good a response as Misato could hope for. Whatever tests Commander Ikari Gendou had wanted to perform, probably wouldn't be that bad anyway. Somewhat mollified, Misato led Ranko and Ranma back into the base.

On the walkway to ops, alarms started blaring, a warning for Angel attack. Misato tapped a console inside the building.

"Ritsuko, I've got the kids. You can shut the alarm off."

"Negative. We got contact in low earth orbit. This is not a drill."

"Damn!" Misato grabbed Ranma and Ranko by their sleeves, rushing them to prep. "You two are the closest. You'll have to take an Eva and deal with the Angel until Shinji and Rei can get here." The two started to complain that they've never ridden in an Eva before. "Don't be such babies! You'll do fine, now get in there before we're all dead. We'll guide you from ops as best we can."

Another technician took Ranma further down a long ramp that ran alongside the Eva loading station.

Ranko was helped into the entry plug, looking a little nervous. "Ok you two, just remember that the Eva is a piece of you now. We aren't expecting too much from you right now, so when you get out there, just try walking."

The capsule was fairly spacious if you didn't think about the straps and cushions holding you into the seat. Ranko closed her eyes and tried to steady her nerves. This was not how she was expecting to get her first practice run in the Eva. She wondered if Ranma was ok. He hadn't even taken the tests yet. Did that matter? Ranko still knew very little about the Eva units. She thought they were robots, but Ritsuko told her they're artificial life forms. Hopefully, they'll be easy tempered.

"What the-"

The plug started filling with liquid and it was rising fast.

"HELP!"

A calm voice came over coms into the plug. "It's ok, Ranko. It's just LCL, let it saturate your lungs and you'll be breathing fine." The liquid rose over her head and Ranko was left opening and closing her mouth like a fish. The sensation of having the LCL enter her lungs was disturbing, but not uncomfortable when her gag reflex relaxed. In the next instant she could feel docking clamps being set in place, the plug was in. Her body fell into a good amount of strain as the entire Eva unit was launched onto the surface.

Eva 01 made contact with the surface first. Everything was calm. The city looked like a big toy from this height. To the right Eva 02 popped out of a hangar much like Ranko had. They were both locked down in a wire cage around the arms and legs. 

"Ok 01 and 02, try taking a few steps to get used to piloting the Eva." The clamps around their bodies snapped open and retracted from the Evas. Ranko was the first to take a small stumble forward. She soon steadied herself and tried moving around slowly. It wasn't actually that difficult. Trying out a few punches and kicks, Ranko let herself smile as she moved about in the Eva rather easily. Giving Ranma her attention, she saw his Eva warming up the same as hers had.

"What do you think Ranma?"

The voice came back with very little static. "No problem. It's kinda like letting our ki flow into our arms, but not our arms. Don't you think so?"

"Yeah. This could be fun. So where is this Angel, Captain Misato?"

Misato didn't respond immediately as she and Ritsuko were still too shocked to speak. How had they moved that well so fast? Shinji and Rei needed at least a couple of hours before they could move around that easily. She had been expecting them to be stumbling around for their first time out.

"Ow-. . " a pinch on her side by Ritsuko brought her out of her shock and she pulled on some headphones. "Uh, right, the Angel is tracked moving towards your position. Try to engage it out of the city. Head fifteen degrees off Northeast from your positions for intercept."

"Hai." They voiced back.

Their Evas came to stand thirty-two miles outside the city, both ready and holding large rifles in their hands.

"Hey Misato, we're here, but we don't see anything." Ranko sounded impatient.

"The Angel is ten miles out and closing. You should have visual once it surfaces." Ranko and Ranma started focusing on the ocean ahead of them. It looked calm, waves gently lapping the beach, and a gentle breeze running through the trees. It was still morning so the sun was still below its apex, blocking out some of their vision.

The ocean suddenly burst as a large white, humanoid, Angel with a red center surfaced. This one had no hands; instead the arms looked more like heavy tapered dog's tails.

"The Angel is emitting an AT field, you'll have to get a few good hits off with your rifle in order to penetrate. The red center is its core. Once you breach the AT field, rupture the core in order to take the Angel down."

"Hai." Both Evas opened up fire with their rifles, hitting the Angel as it made its way to the beach, slowly. The shots started taking their toll on the Angel and it soon collapsed as the bullets entered the AT field surrounding it, piercing the Angel inside.

The rifles stopped firing as they ran out of ammunition. "Hey, it's not firing anymore." Ranma didn't like using a rifle to take out his opponent, it seemed rather cheap, but how was he supposed to fight the thing without it? He got his answer as he caught Eva 01 cupping its hands together and building up a massive ki ball. "Oh yeah!" Ranma locked the rifle into position on the Eva's back and brought his hands together the same way Ranko was.

"What are you DOING!? Pull out your AT swords and attack it!"

"No thanks, Misato." Ranko replied for both of them. "This will be more fun." Blue spheres of light grew between the Eva's outstretched arms. "Ready, Ranma?"

"Anytime." Ranma grinned to himself.

Together they began a battle cry. "MOUKO"

The Angel in the water had picked itself up from the water by this time and was quickly advancing on the two waiting Evas. 

"TAKA"

Reaching solid ground, the Angel launched itself into the air, opening its arms in an attempt to slash at the Eva units. Ranko could feel the ki in the Eva's hands, surging and swaying like the tide, a weapon yanking at its leash. The power was ready to trample anything in its path.

"BISHA!!!"

Huge beams of blue light surged from the Eva units, seeking out its prey. They slammed into the Angel's torso, knocking the creature into the sky a few dozen meters before the energy pushed beyond its defenses and bored a hole, flying out the back with a green spray.

The Angel fell from the sky a few moments later, landing in the water where it had first appeared. The two Eva units roared in joy and shared a high five.

"That was it. No long drawn out fights like we've seen before when Shinji or Rei took on the first four Angels. We have quite a talented pair of youths on our side it would seem." Commander Gendou was opening the discussions of the recent Angel attack with SEELE. They were a seedy, annoying group of military leaders from around the world, or that which survived Second Impact. 

"Will it be possible to reproduce these results for future pilots?" A man on one side of the darkened table was pooling over the computer output he'd been given for the briefing.

"NERV scientists are looking into it. The pilots have submitted themselves to certain tests to see if blasts can be duplicated. They have doubts that either First or Second Child will be able to perform such feats."

This time a man in the center of the table looked up at Gendou. The face was hard to make out in the light, but his glasses, shining off the projector's light, showed him to be giving Commander Ikari his full attention. "How do these new pilots of yours explain the energy output the Evas created?"

"Third Child tells me her training in the martial arts prepared her mind to control the ki and focus it into the energy blasts you witnessed. Apparently, before Third arrived at NERV, she had been training Fourth in the use of ki manipulation. Magi's sensors tell us the blasts were comprised of AT energy, however, Third and Fourth are able to fire these blasts without their Evas, so I'm willing to believe the ki and AT fields run along the same frequencies making the blasts possible."

The room fell silent for a little while as the men assembled analyzed what they had been told. The center man spoke up once again. "These two children may be the salvation we've been hoping for, however, we cannot deny the fact that they are in a dangerous situation. Make arrangements to have more people trained similarly. If we can reproduce these abilities, we won't need to rely on these two alone." Some shuffling of papers indicated the briefing was coming to an end. "Keep us informed of your progress." 

With that, Commander Ikari grabbed his own file on Third and Fourth. They may be a pain in the ass, but if they can keep up results like these, he could be lenient. Now that First and Second are no longer necessary, what should he do with them? Gendou wasn't ready to believe Rei couldn't learn the techniques Ranko and Ranma used. She had been the creation of years of research and experimentation, a combination of human and Angel genomes, a marvel in artificial life. She couldn't possibly be useless now.

Shinji on the other hand, was just an ordinary boy, he could be discarded, but something was nagging at the Commander. Abandoning his son for twelve years was no way to keep a family together, but as it was, he never felt any real connection to his son. They were strangers. Gendou's life had been spent in saving humanity. He had no time to deal with a son. Shinji could always live with his uncle again. No, if, somehow, one of the new pilots were killed, Shinji would be needed as a backup pilot. Gendou would keep Shinji around for now, but when they trained proper pilots, he would be returned to his old life.

Now if only Gendou could get those damn kids to follow orders. Ranma seems much more immature than Ranko, an easy pushover. Or would be, but he followed Ranko's instructions, probably because of some teacher/student relationship. It may be some martial artist code, but he'd be damned if they didn't start following his orders. 

Gendou had his ideas for teaching future pilots. Ranko would make a prime choice to teach the students at the local high school. She has already passed out of high schools and she has the most experience with this ki manipulation. If nothing else, it ought to keep her out of his hair during the day.

"This is GREAT!!"

Ranma was on his way to his first day at the high school near NERV. It was a chance to start over. No pompous idiots declaring they will destroy him, no wandering ruffians wanting to kill him, and best of all, no multiple fiancée problems. This was all well and good, but it wasn't why Ranma was happy. If he lost any of these things, life would be boring.

"You've been saying that for the last hour since we were told, aren't you tired yet?" Ranko walked casually along the top of a nearby fence. Ranma was hopping around, doing backflips from the fence to the ground and back again. When they woke up that morning, Misato had told them they were to be given places to live in the private sector. Apparently, it was a big deal. 'Must be because we beat that Angel.' 

"I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of this. We aren't going to be stuck in that little apartment anymore and Akane gets to come live with us!"

Things had been moving quickly. When Ranko had left the Tendo's, Ranma and Akane were still having some problems, but the way Ranma was acting, she guessed they must've patched things up. Ranko wondered if Akane would like to move out here. She would probably be upset about leaving her family, but if she liked Ranma maybe it would be alright. Hopefully she's not doing this because of their parents again.

"I'm still not sure we should be living together."

Ranma stopped suddenly on the fence and turned around to face Ranko, walking backwards. "Why not? You're Akane's and my friend. We wouldn't want you to live by yourself, besides, who else is going to spar with me?"

"I suppose, but wouldn't you two like to have some privacy?"

Ranma quirked an eyebrow. "What for?"

Ranko knocked him off the fence and continued walking to school. "Boy, are you thick." 

It was going to take a while for Ranma to figure out what Ranko was talking about so until he did they changed the subject. "So why are you going to school Ranko? I thought you didn't have to cause you graduated or something."

"Nah, NERV has things they want to make sure you know. Remember the past or you'll make the same mistakes, kinda thing. I'm not going to be taking all the classes anyway. Commander Ikari wants me to teach a class for the schools new curriculum."

"Wow. I knew you were smart, but I didn't know you could teach school stuff like the adults." Ranma suddenly got skeptical. What could Ranko teach. She knew language and math and some other things, but she couldn't know as much as the teachers. "What class did he say you were teaching?"

"Martial Arts."

"What?! Why?"

"Why not? You think I'm not good enough."

"You know that's not it, Ranko. You beat me every morning and I'm the best. I mean why would they want you to teach that at the high school?"

Ranko shrugged. "He's probably still caught up on this idea of having other people become as powerful as us. I told him that it takes years of training before someone can even grasp the idea of their ki, but he didn't listen as usual."

"You think you can get anyone to learn it?"

Ranko shook her head. "I doubt it. They are all too old and set in their ways. If it weren't for your dad training you when you were young, I doubt I could even get you to learn it."

"Man." Ranma looked at the ground. "Never thought I'd have to thank oyagi for something."

"How are your folks Ranma?"

"Fine, I guess. Dad and mom visit the Tendos a bunch to see how things are going and stuff. They also decided to have another kid."

"Really?!" Ranko almost tripped and fell off the fence. She remembered Mr. Saotome well. He was a fat, balding, obnoxious, slob. She wondered what Mrs. Saotome saw in him, but to have another child with him, that took guts. Mr. Saotome had plenty of that, literally. 

"Yeah, mom talked him into it. She missed me growing up, and now that I'm leaving again she's been feeling really lonely. Dad isn't much company so she wanted a baby. I think she wants a girl this time. Oyagi probably won't take a girl on his training trips."

"Hmm." 

The school was around the next corner. It was a modern high school with green lawns and big buildings. It was still early and there were students milling about the courtyard. Ranma and Ranko could see Shinji and Rei waiting for them near the gate. Rei still wore her jump suit and Shinji stuck to his regular short-sleeved shirt and jeans. 

"Hey guys!" Ranko shouted out from across the street. Shinji waved back at her. "You met Ranma yet?"

"Uhm no, we just heard there was a new pilot, you him?"

Ranma nodded and shook Shinji hand. "Saotome Ranma."

"I'm Ikari Shinji. This is Ayanami Rei."

"Nice to meet you." Ranma bowed.

Rei spoke up after examining Ranma closely. "Are you and Ranko related?"

"No." Ranko answered. "But we get that a lot."

"So is it true?" Shinji asked. "Are you as powerful as Ranko?"

"You bet I am." Ranma grinned. Ranko smacked on the back of the head. "Well, I will be someday."

Shinji nodded. "Well it's good to have you on the team. Maybe now that there are two of you, me and Rei can get some time off. It doesn't look like you guys need our help that much."

"Well yeah-"

"Don't be ridiculous. You guys have lots more experience in the Evas than we do." Ranko cut Ranma off before he put his foot in his mouth. He did that every now and then, in spite of Ranko's best efforts. The first day at NERV and he got Misato and Ritsuko mad when he made some comment about weak women and calling someone an otoemba.

"Ahh! Ranko! The morning is already a little brighter now that you are here."

Everyone turned to see a tall, muscled boy making his way to them. 

"Taki? What are you doing?" Ranko suddenly got an image of the poetry-spouting moron from Nerima. What was his name? Tatewaki?

Taki looked a little embarrassed, but continued. "I have seen bright roses, an affection to my heart, but in daydream dozes, it is with you I start."

"Poetry?" Rei blinked. Taki turned another shade of crimson. He'd been trying all week to get Ranko to notice him. None of his usual methods worked so right now he was scraping the bottom of the barrel.

"Is this guy serious Ranko?" Ranma asked. Boy was this guy bad. He was even worse than Kuno.

"Excuse me, whelp, but I was talking to the lady. Kindly move off before you find yourself in over your head."

"Look who's talking." Ranma muttered. He took a step in front of Ranko and squared off before the boy. Taki was a good foot taller than Ranma and at least twice as large. "I think you need to go back to the drawing board today cause bad poetry and acting rude isn't going to get you anywhere with girls."

"Listen pipsqueak, you are starting to annoy me, now get out of the way or be get ready for a pounding." Ranma took a second to look at Ranko. She chided him for getting into her fight, but this seemed like a good time to see if Ranma had really learned anything. She nodded to him and watched.

"We don't need to fight. You just need to clean up your act a little. So why don't you take a break and think it over."

"That's it. I'm not putting up with anymore of this shit. I'm Taki, next Eva pilot, and no one stands in my way. What's your name, pipsqueak? I'll need to mark your grave."

Ranma had been easily dodging and blocking each of Taki's attacks during his little speech. Taking a twenty-foot backflip to separate himself from the large boy, Ranma setup into a fighting stance. "I'm Saotome Ranma, heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, and Fourth Child. Pleased to meet ya."

Taki caught the last part of his introduction and turned red with anger. "They picked a weakling outsider instead of me to be the next pilot. I will see how good you are Ranma!" Ranko shrugged at Ranma's lack of tact and started walking into the school. Shinji wasn't sure if he should leave Ranma to be pounded by Taki. He knew Ranma was a good pilot, but that didn't mean he could take on Taki. Rei simply watched the fight by Shinji's side.

Ranma hadn't thrown a punch yet. He was still dodging and blocking, waiting for the bully to show his true strength, but this had been going on for too long. The school bell was bound to ring sometime and this guy didn't seem even in Ranma's league. Time to test the waters a bit. 

Taki's next punch was heading straight for Ranma's face when the pigtailed boy caught it. "What?!" This was new. Taki had never had someone catch his hand before and hold it. He tried pulling away but Ranma held on, in fact, Ranma started to put a little more muscle into it, forcing Taki to his knees before letting go.

"Sorry guy, but you aren't good enough to fight me yet." Doing his best to stop the fight Ranko's way, Ranma tried being nice. "You know, Ranko is going to be teaching the Martial Arts class. If you train hard, you might be a good fighter." Ranma took a step back to gauge his opponents response. The bell rang while Taki was still looking shocked at what Ranma had just done. "Well, time for class." He walked around the down boy and headed for the school. 

Taki's hand turned into a fist as he quickly lashed out at the pigtailed boy. It wasn't fast enough, though. Ranma deftly jumped into the air, performing another backflip that resulted in his landing on Taki's head and knocking the boy to the ground. 

Ranma sighed and walked into the school with Rei and Shinji.

None of them were late, luckily. Today was the day the principal held an assembly to introduce the new curriculum and the new teacher.

"You should all have been given your new schedule and I hope you enjoy our Martial Arts class." To his left stood Ranko, looking calm and quiet, staring out at the students in the auditorium. They stared right back at her. Ranko had been there a few days and the boys and some of the girls were already speaking of her beauty. Things couldn't get better. The hottest chick in the school was going to be teaching them martial arts. They couldn't wait to see her bouncing around in one of those loose white gis, shining with sweat. Erotic fantasies were so evident on their faces Ranko could feel herself being stripped with their eyes. Unnerving wasn't the word for it, but Ranko wasn't going to let it show.

The principal finished his speech and Ranko took the podium, answering some questions and giving them an idea of what she wanted to teach them.

The rest of the day was rather boring. Ranma paid minimal attention to his teachers until it came time for Ranko's class. After she set the students to their stretches, she and Ranma went off to the side for a little free sparring. They didn't go as hard as they normally would, keeping away from using their ki and relying on pure skill instead. 

As luck would have it, Taki was in the same class as Ranma. He watched enviously from his butterfly stretch as Ranma and Ranko began their match. They moved with speed and grace Taki had never seen before. Punches were thrown and countered almost to fast for him to follow. He couldn't believe he had tried to fight Ranma. Taki wasn't normally such a moron, but he'd been working up his nerves to get Ranko's attention that he was to flustered to think clearly when Ranma got in the way.

Taki groaned as he watched them. Ranko was wearing her usual Chinese outfit, which, oddly enough, was the same as Ranma's. He wondered if they were related. The thought left his mind shortly after it arrived as he watched Ranko bouncing around on the mat. Her sizable breasts were bouncing and swaying despite the sports bra she wore. 

This was going to be a **hard** class.

"So? What did you guys think?" 

Ranko, Ranma, Rei, and Shinji were on their way to NERV after school for practice runs in their Evas. They got in Eva 003 a few days ago but no one could use her until they went over the system with a fine-tooth comb. Ranko's Eva 002 came in last week; this was going to be her first run with it. They still had to check Ranko and Ranma's sync with their respective Evas but they weren't expecting any problems considering their success in Rei and Shinji's units.

"I think your class is the best Ranko." Ranma piped up from his perch on the fence. He had been falling asleep in school, Ranko could tell, but once he started his sparring match with Ranko he soon woke up courtesy of uppercut express.

"Aw, thanks Ranma, but I was expecting you to like it. I'd have to step up your training if you got bored." Ranma didn't miss the intended threat in her joke. Ranko could very well back up anything she said. Of that, Ranma had no doubts. He gulped and watched her nervously.

"I don't think Rei and I ever worked so hard in class before." Shinji commented sourly as he and Rei walked to headquarters, still sore from the exercises. Rei had her arm draped over Shinji's shoulder, more from the weakness in her legs than from affection, still her closeness was one thing Shinji was silently thanking Ranko for. Ranko could see his appreciation in his eyes; he didn't hide it very well.

"Well after the first couple of weeks you should be getting used to it. What about you Rei, did you have fun?" Rei hadn't been following the conversation very well. With her arm around Shinji, she couldn't help but rest her head on his shoulder and take in his scent. He was clean from the shower after Martial Arts class and smelled like soap like everyone else who takes showers, but it was different with Shinji. She found him strangely and pleasurably intoxicating.

"Rei?" Shinji shook the shoulder his hand was resting on.

"Hmm?"

"Did you enjoy Ranko's class?" She noticed everyone was staring at her. Resting on Shinji, Rei could think of only one response.

"I'm looking forward to my next class, Ranko." Shinji blushed when he felt her tighten the grip on his body. Ranko smiled knowingly and looked up at Ranma. Oh well.

"Oniisan? When is Akane-chan arriving?"

Ranma pulled out a piece of paper from his pant's pocket. "She says it'll be around four cause she's gonna spend some time with my folks before she leaves. That oughtta be plenty of time for us to finish the practice run this afternoon, ne?"

"Yeah, I think so." Shinji answered.

"You guys want to come along?"

"Yeah." They chimed back. Ranko missed her friend. Rei and Shinji had their suspicions about Akane. She must be a great cook and nice person to get Ranma. Shinji doubted that she would be a martial artist because Ranma seemed big on protecting people.

The group continued around the corner lost in their thoughts. Shinji and Rei almost ran into Taki when he appeared. He wasn't looking at anyone but Ranko, smiling brightly.

"H-Hey Taki." Shinji stuttered and steered Rei around the bully.

Taki gave Shinji a glance of recognition then followed along Ranko below the fence. "Hi Ranko. How was your first day of teaching?"

"Oh hi, Taki. It was good thanks. Did you like the class?"

"Yes, I liked it very much, Ranko." Taki took a moment to steady himself then hoisted himself on the fence and tried to follow Ranko. "Hey, um, Ranko?"

"Yes?"

Taki was holding out his hand to either side for balance as he tried to concentrate on what he was saying. "I was wondering if, um, if I could , um, y'know, apologize for this morning and, um, maybe . . ."

"Oh this ought to be good." Ranma commented as he jumped to the ground beside Shinji to get a better view of Taki.

Taki growled at him but did his best to continue, eventhough everyone was now looking at him. " . . . and maybe takeyououttodinner?" The last part was a little quick, but Ranko got a good idea of what his goal was. Poor guy.

"That's very sweet, Taki . . ."

"Then you'll . . ."

" . . . but I'm afraid I can't do that."

"What?!" Taki lost his balance and fell to the sidewalk with a thud. "Ow. Why not? This is because of Ranma, isn't it?" Taki glared at Ranma, picking himself up slowly.

Ranko stopped to stare at the fallen boy, pity evident in her eyes. "It's not Ranma, Taki. Before I could become a teacher I had to sign these papers and one of them said I couldn't date students. It had something to do with biased grading."

"But you're still seeing Ranma!"

Ranko nearly fell off the fence, a slight blush on her face. Ranma snickered at Taki. "We aren't seeing each other, Taki."

"You can't fool me Ranma. I know the two of you are living together!"

"Taki, I think you better stop before you embarrass yourself." Ranko retorted. She may like Ranma but she didn't want him to catch on, it would make things weird. 

"But . . then . . . but. . . " Taki lost control of his temper and charged Ranma. "Ranma, this is all your fault!" He started swinging at Ranma with all his might, but it wasn't Ranma who took him down this time.

Ranko grabbed Taki's arm, twisting it behind his back, and sending him to the ground, where she sat on him until he stopped struggling. "Well now you've done it. I won't have people attacking my favorite student, especially when he is my brother."

"Your brother?!" Taki looked surprised. He hadn't noticed how similar the two looked; Taki wasn't known to be that observant.

"That's right and secondly, (you are gonna feel real embarrassed now) while I find your attention flattering, I'm frankly not interested. You're a handsome boy, and I'm sure you'll make some nice girl very happy, but you've got nothing I want. You hear me?"

Taki had gone slack under Ranko, listening to her, but only finding the strength to stare at the sidewalk. "Yeah, I hear you." Very quietly, "Could you get off me now?"

Ranko stood up and watched Taki slowly climb to his feet. He gave everyone a last look, lingering on Ranko for a moment, before he walked off in the opposite direction, his shoulders slumped. Ranko felt bad about having to do that. Some people were just to thick for anything else. She sighed and took her place on the fence in front of Ranma.

They continued their walk to headquarters in silence. The situation had just been too awkward for anyone to say anything. They each wanted Taki to be put in his place, but they couldn't help but hear the crinkle of his heart falling to pieces. 

The teams had been divided into two, Shinji and Ranma on one and Rei and Ranko on the other. The Evas were brought to an empty stretch of land. There were plenty of obstacles: trees, boulders, and some mountains. Only the last would make very effective hiding places as everything else came up to the Eva's waists.

"Alright!" Ranma exclaimed. "Boys versus Girls. You ready Shin-kun?"

"You bet." 

They had been given rifles that looked much like the ones they used before except they would only emit light signals. The Evas were set up to react realistically to a hit, so everything would be pretty safe until they got in close for hand to hand. 

Ritsuko finished her evaluations of the new Evas and their pilots and reported to Commander Ikari, "Ranma and Ranko are holding to previous sync rates. Rei and Shinji are down slightly but they may be due to the fatigue they were feeling after school." Gendou nodded and ordered the practice to commence. "Alright you guys, ready, set, go!"

Shinji and Ranma snatched their rifles from their holding blocks on the ground and took off down the terrain. Ranma could easily outrun Shinji, but he felt it would be safer to keep together. They moved along the mountains, staying out of sight as much as possible.

Shinji's voice came over the radio. "Be careful Ranma, all of our Eva's tracking signals were turned off to make this difficult, so we can't be sure which direction they'll be coming from.

"Ha. I don't need the sensors to know Ranko is hiding behind the mountain just Northeast of us."

"How do you know that?" Shinji asked.

"I can feel her ki. She's not doing a good job of hiding it." Shinji thought of telling him to be careful, but Ranma was already off, flanking the mountain he had indicated. Shinji followed him until they came up to a mountain West of Ranko's position. "I'll take up position behind those trees to cover your back. We still don't know where Rei is."

"Roger that, Shinji." Ranma worked his way closer to Ranko's ki signal until the only thing separating them was an outcropping of the mountain. 'I've got you now, Ranko.' Ranma jumped up firing his rifle. The beams passed harmlessly through a dissipating ball of ki. "Shinji, it's a trap-" Ranma was suddenly cut off as he sprung from the position he'd been in, curling his body through the air to avoid a spray of weapons fire.

Ranko's Eva was lying flat on top of the mountain, waiting to spring her trap. When Ranma had suddenly popped up she began firing at full auto. He somehow managed to avoid all her light shots as he tumbled through the air, taking a few shots at Ranko of his own. Lying down on the side of a mountain left Ranko few options for dodging incoming return fire. She decided to sacrifice her weapon and take Ranma on hand to hand. 

Ranko's weapon dropped to the ground as he landed, there were still a few dozen shots left to him for the practice run. Hoping to press his advantage, Ranma started aiming for Ranko's Eva. 

Ranko pressed her body against the mountain and waited for the right moment to push herself off. She was willing to bet Ranma hadn't remembered some of his ki exercises he could use with the Evas. The shots came and Ranko shot off the mountain like a bullet. Ranma's attempts to hit her missed their mark by a few feet, pretty close considering how big the Evas were. Using her ki, she dodged more incoming fire until she heard the click of an empty chamber. Ranko grinned to herself and landed behind Ranma after pulling herself into a backflip so she was facing him.

Ranma twirled around, rifle still in his hands, and saw Ranko ready to press the attack. He had a second to get his rifle in the way and twist, blocking her double punch and shoving the rifle into her chest.

Ranko swore when she missed her target, but recovered quickly, catching Ranma off guard when she grabbed the rifle and pulled it along as she tossed him to the ground in a Kenpo throw. The Evas were much slower than Ranma and Ranko were out of them. It had something to do with their mastery over their ki. The Evas had no such mastery and were dependent upon their pilots to make their bodies move. Ranko wondered if there was a way to tap into the Eva's ki for it, but it didn't seem likely. 

Ranma rolled out of his fall and got up to his feet in a fighting stance against Ranko. Switching on his com for Commander communication, "Well Ranko, it seems we're more evenly matched in the Evas, you think you can beat me the way you always do?"

"No problem." Ranko laughed. She was actually wondering that herself. From what she was seeing, the Evas seemed to have a limit to their capabilities and she and Ranma both seemed to be unable to push their Evas beyond that limit. She wondered if her special attacks could work.

Ranma was the first to rush in. He ran to her and jumped into a high back kick aimed at her head. She ducked under it, knowing full well it was intended to get him within her defenses from behind. She lashed out with her back leg, sweeping the feet out from under him.

He back flipped to the mountain, using it as a springboard and launched himself back at Ranko. His hands flew out as he got within reach. She blocked and countered, grabbing a chest plate she knocked Ranma into the ground at her feet.

Ranma had been ready for this and rolled once again. Not skipping a beat he back flipped, intending to drive his knee into Ranko. She was conveniently out of the way though, hovering in the air directly in line with the sun. When he looked up, the sun blinded him temporarily and he lost sight of Ranko.

She was nowhere in sight. Ranma twisted around checking the mountains for a hiding robot, but found nothing. "Shinji? Do you copy? I lost Ranko. Did you see where she went?" Nothing came back but static.

"Can't get a hold of your partner, Ranma?"

"Wah!" Ranma twirled around to find Ranko standing behind him. Even her Eva seemed smug. He dropped into a fighting stance and was just about to run at Ranko when his Eva suddenly dropped to the ground. "Shit!"

"That's a wrap, kids." Misato's voice, "Head back to your starting points and we'll set up for one more run. Nice job out there Ranko and Rei."

Ranko picked up her rifle and strolled out of the area with Rei. Shinji walked over to Ranma and helped him stand up. "Sorry, Rei must've flanked us as we were flanking them. So what happened with Ranko?"

"She cheated. She left a ki ball hanging in the air for me to pick up." Ranma stood up and collected his rifle. "Don't worry, we'll get them next time, though." They started to walk off for their own starting point.

"Warning, incoming Angel over Japanese waters. Intercept at sector three, west of Tokyo-3. This is not a drill. We've got confirmed Angel contact, intercept at sector three, west of Tokyo-3. Shinji and Rei head back to your bases for rifle reload, Ranma and Ranko move to intercept and try to slow him down, acknowledge."

"Acknowledged." They replied and took off, following Misato's orders.

Ranma met up with Ranko past the mountain range that divided the practice area from the rest of Japan. 

Ranko looked over to Ranma, "Let's fly, we ought to be able to get there quicker that way." Ranma nodded and focused the AT field, which responded as a ki of sorts, and lifted in the air after Ranko. They took off at speeds over a hundred kilometers and hour, definitely faster than running. 

Inside the control center, Misato and Ritsuko watched the readouts with shock. 

"How can they do that?" Ritsuko said astonished. "They're flying!"

"Not only that but their sync rates just jumped up to two-hundred and ten percent. They weren't even going seriously before. These kids are amazing!" Misato jumped up and down excitedly. "Those two are gonna wipe the floor with any Angel that comes our way! We're gonna win this war yet!"

Gendou watched in fascination at the views relayed by Eva 002 and 003. They showed the sea approaching rapidly as they flew over Tokyo-3. It all passed by so quickly Ranko and Ranma were soon landing in their own respective styles and scanning the area for the Angel.

"Captain Misato this is Ranko. Request intercept for incoming Angel, come back."

"Roger Ranko." Misato replied. "Angel should be surfacing ocean bearing fifteen degrees off your right. Watch your batteries, they are down to half capacity." 'This'll probably be over in less than a minute. They won't even need a lift back when they're done.' Misato heard Ranko and Ranma confirm the energy levels and readied themselves to engage Angel-5.

"Ranma, hold back your energy a little. Let's see if we can take him down without depleting our ki."

"Hai." 

Ranma and Ranko took their fighting stances and warmed up a ki blast, in their hands, smaller than the one they used last time. Out in the distance Angel-5 broke the surface of the water and started to charge them. 

The ki blast flew from their hands, streaking across the sky to the Angel, leaving a smell of ozone in their wake. The Angel opened its wings and took to the air. Ranma's blast hit the surface of the water where the Angel had been a moment ago.

"No you don't!" Ranko cried and thrust her arms up. The ki ball followed her movements and ascended after the Angel. It smacked the creature full force in the back and was thrown to the beach, landing in an impact crater.

"Wow, Ranko. I didn't know you could do that!"

Ranko grinned. "There's a lot you don't know, grasshopper." They ran over to the fallen Angel, Ranma took the initiative and went to drive his fist into the core as NERV scientists had instructed him. 

The Angel must have sensed the incoming danger. It suddenly unfurled its wings once again, using them to knock Ranma out of the way. Eva 003 hit the beach with a thud and flipped up on one hand into a fighting stance.

Ranko started to move in to press their attack. A sudden blast from the creature's mouth forced her to swing her body to one side, landing on all fours in front of the Angel. She lashed out with an arc kick, knocking it into the air headed for Ranma.

Ranma needed little prompting and rushed into the surprised Angel, punching it rapidly in the body and head, following up with a jump back kick that cracked the shell covering the Angel's core.

The Angel let loose with another of its blasts, but was clamped on from behind. Finding its mouth closed, the blast blew up part of its own head. 

Ranko finished the rest, holding onto what was left, she pushed with her legs against its back until something gave. The Angel went flying forwards, past Ranma, as Ranko and its head went the other way.

"Got him!" Ranma exclaimed. "But that was kinda grouse, Ranko." Eva 002 shrugged and spun the head on her finger like a basketball.

"What are you doing?!"

"What's wrong Misato, we got it already." Ranko tossed the head around idly.

"No you didn't, you just gave it a time limit on how much longer it can last. Without it's head, it's blind, but that doesn't keep it from self-destructing!!"

"Oh shit!" Ranma and Ranko ran after where they saw the Angel last. It was starting to stand up slowly and move around aimlessly.

Ranma could see it was walking towards the city, tripping on things along the way. "C'mon Ranko. We got to stop it before it reaches the city. It'll ruin everything." Ranko agreed and they flew off after the Angel.

The headless Angel reached the outside of the city before they could catch up. Not being able to see, it started thrashing as it became tangled up in the lower buildings. Out of the corner of his eye, Ranma saw a train coming into the city. The Angel was headed straight for the train station.

"Shit!" Ranma pressed harder and tackled the monster to the ground short of the station. His hand pulled back in what he hoped would be a strike that could run through the core he had cracked.

The Angel's thrashing wasn't making things easy however. Ranma was thrown from its back and went down on a warehouse. Ranko moved in with a narrow ki blast and pressed it into the Angel's chest. The closed beam sliced through the tough exterior like it was made of butter.

It let out one last agonized scream, flailing its limbs before collapsing. Its left arm came close to smashing the train station, but Ranma was there in time to catch it and hold it above the stopping train. There were screams of panic as people quickly evacuated the platform. 

One person stayed behind, holding her hands together and focusing on the nearest Eva. She shouted something Ranma could barely make out but the ki blast was something he definitely recognized. Forcing a ki shield to be erected in his hand, Ranma swatted the large blast into the air where it dissipated after traveling a few miles up. He set the dead Angel's hand down carefully before returning his gaze to the terrified girl on the train platform.

"Hi Akane!" Ranma caught her before she passed out. Cradling her in his open palms, he brought her close to make sure she was alright.

"Smooth one, Ranma." Ranko smirked.

"Aw, she'll forgive me when she wakes up. Come on, let's get back to NERV."

The two walked into the city to make sure they didn't cause damage. They stood over a pair of large metallic hatchways and soon descended into the geofront of Tokyo-3.

End Chapter 4

Akane woke up half an hour later surrounded by a number of people she didn't know. One of them was a doctor, others were soldiers, and the last was staring deeply into her eyes. 

"RANMA!!!"

Akane threw her arms around his neck and hugged him close as she sobbed. "It was terrible. I was on the train platform, people were screaming, and there was this huge ugly monster staring at me and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I put everything I had behind that ki blast and it just batted it away like it was made of nothing!"

"Shh, shh. It's okay now, Akane-chan. You haven't got anything to worry about. And I gotta tell you, that piece of nothing hurt like hell when I hit it into the air. I didn't know you could throw anything like that." Akane stopped sobbing and dried her tears with her shirtsleeve.

"What are you talking about Ranma?"

He looked over to where his Eva was docked, its head sticking out of the water.

"Oh my god, that's it!"

"It's okay, Akane. She's on our side."

Ranma's words slowly started to sink in as Akane looked back and forth between the Evangelion and Ranma. She pulled back and hit him lightly on the chest.

"You mean that was you! You scared the hell out of me, you jerk!"

Ranma laughed good-naturedly and held Akane tightly in his arms. She wrapped her hands around he waist and squeezed him for a moment.

"Ahem."

The two lovebirds broke their hug to see Ranko smiling at them.

"Ranko!"

Ranma helped his fiancée to her feet and she embraced Ranko for a moment and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Daijobu desu ka, Ranko-neechan?"

Ranko delighted in feeling Akane so close and hearing herself be called sister. "I'm fine, Akane-chan. I'm sorry if we frightened you, but I was so proud to see you use your ki so effectively."

Akane blushed a little. "Thanks, Ranko. I've been practicing real hard." 

Ranko smiled and hugged her sister again. "I missed you guys so much. C'mon let's get out of here."

"Hai." Akane sidled up to Ranma again and wrapped her hand around his waist. The three started for the changing rooms so Ranma and Ranko can get back into their regular clothes.

Misato caught a hold of Ranko's arm before she could leave the hangar area. "Give me a second with Ranko, okay guys?" Ranma and Akane nodded and left. "Firstly Ranko, good job out there, but try not to forget the core next time."

Ranko blushed slightly; it was a stupid mistake that anyone could've made. "Hai."

"Also, we saw what happened through your viewers. Ritsuko has a few questions about how your were able to fly, but more importantly is Akane."

"Akane?"

"Yes, Gendou wants to test her sync with the Evas."

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? She's got the same powers you and Ranma have. That could mean she could sync as well as you two."

Ranko's brows furrowed slightly. "Forget it."

"What?! But if she can sync as well as you two, we'll have three unstoppably pilots, it'll be safer for all of us."

"Not for her it won't." Ranko gabbed her finger into Misato's shoulder. "She maybe be able to use her ki, but you guys have basically no clue when it comes to controlling it. Besides that, Akane is Ranma's fiancée and he won't be happy if Akane was needlessly placed in danger. Getting her involved could get one or both of them killed."

"I don't really think that's your decision to make Ranko. In case you forgot, NERV is above the law and can draft a person of Akane's talents without your consent." Misato straightened her jacket and looked back at Ranko with her best intimidating glare.

"Oh, really?" Ranko kept her eyes fixed on Misato and focused a ki ball into her open palm between them.

The blue light flickered malevolently across Misato's features as she began to sweat. Her eyes looked cautiously at the ki ball and back to Ranko. She gulped loudly.

"I don't think I need to tell you how much I care about Ranma and Akane. I know Ranma can handle himself, but Akane just isn't ready for this."

Misato pulled up as much dignity as she had left and faced the angry redhead. "Fine." 

Ranko watched Misato walk off and wondered if she had gone too far. Threatening people like that had never been her style. The ki ball alighted to the wind and dissipated when it left her hand. Ranko sighed and went to the changing rooms.

Misato returned to the control room. "I'm sorry sir, but Ranko was very . . . insistent on keeping Akane safe. She felt it would put them in danger needlessly. Do you want me to talk to Akane alone?"

"No that's alright, Captain." Gendou replied nonchalantly. "Ranko maybe right. Ranma and Akane's relationship could cause them to make stupid mistakes. That wasn't the only reason she gave you though, was it?"

"Uhm, no sir. Ranko said something about Akane's control of her ki. She didn't go into much detail."

"I see." Gendou thought it over, steepling his hand in front of him. "When Ranko gets out of the changing room have her, Ranma, and Akane report to my office."

"Yes sir." Misato bowed slightly and left Gendou's presence.

There was a knock at Gendou's door a little while later. 

"Come."

Ranko, Ranma, and Akane walked into the dark office.

"What's up, Commander?" There was a slight edge to Ranko's voice, but it had noticeably toned down since their first meeting.

"I wanted to discuss something with you concerning Akane." Gendou replied calmly, there was no hostility in his voice.

"Huh? About me . . ."

"Look, I already told Misato that Akane was not going to pilot an Eva, there's nothing more to discuss."

Gendou sighed a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Have a seat Ranko." Ranko seemed ready to complain, but Gendou cut in. "I heard about your complaint against the idea and I agree."

Ranma and Ranko looked surprised. Most of the time when Ranko and Gendou got together they would be at each other's throats and arguing on one point or another. Ranma wondered if Gendou had given Ranko the teaching position to keep her out of his hair during the day.

"You agree." 

"Yes, but I would like to ask you about what you said to Misato about her ki." Gendou indicated Akane with a nod of his head. "You mentioned there was a problem which made her a bad candidate for an Eva pilot."

"Uhm, yes." Ranko wasn't sure how to continue; she'd never been with the Commander unless they were arguing. "Akane, could you demonstrate your aura for the Commander?"

"Sure." Akane let go of Ranma and concentrated a little. In a moment a red aura sprang up around her, and by the look on her face it was easy to see she was upset. Gendou did not miss this.

"Ah, I remember you telling me that a persons aura is a reflection of their strongest emotions. Am I correct to guess that the color difference between hers and yours is an indication of that emotion."

"Yes, exactly. Akane's primary emotion is anger. Ranma and myself use confidence. When he and I pilot the Evas we extend our ki in order to gain sufficient control over them. I think you can see why Akane would not be a good choice."

"I think so." Gendou peered closely at the flaming red aura surrounding Akane. It grew slightly when Akane noticed how close he was. Gendou stepped back to mollify her. "Could you tell me anyways."

"I have no doubt that Akane could sync just as high as Ranma and myself, but to do that she has to use her ki, something she has not completely mastered yet. Add to that the anger it requires for her to form it and you have a very dangerous Eva. The Evas are very susceptible to our emotions, with Akane's anger it wouldn't be long before one of them went berserk or even destroyed itself." Ranko paused and looked at Gendou straight-faced. "Commander, why do you need another pilot anyway? You have four and unless things have changed you have only four Evas."

Gendou took his seat behind his desk and watched Ranko with some respect. "Nothing has changed. SEELE has expressed an interest in finding more pilots with your capabilities. If one of you were to become injured in a fight, we would feel much more secure with another with your control over ki as a backup pilot. Now that you've explained Akane's problem with piloting an Eva, I have another question to ask her."

Akane and Ranma had been watching the conversation with a small sense of awe. They had learned things about their ki they had only suspected. Ranko had been very tight-lipped about the emotions involved with their auras; they wondered what else she could tell them. Akane perked up when Gendou spoke to her directly.

"Akane, I've been told that you will be moving into Tokyo-3 with Ranma and Ranko."

"Hai."

"I was hoping you could help Ranko teach the students martial arts and to train them with the use of their ki. Your transfer records tell me you are a good student, so I don't see why you can't finish the classes you have left while assisting Ranko. Would you be interested?"

Akane smiled at Ranko and nodded her head. "Hai!"

"Wonderful, I'm also hoping that you would allow my scientists to compare your aura to Ranko's and Ranma's so that we may better understand it." Ranko looked at Gendou from her seat on his desk. She was still a bit skeptical. Akane also had some trepidation about this but Ranko nodded her approval and Akane agreed with the Commander.

"Well," Gendou stood up and bowed to Akane. "Thank you for your time Miss. Tendo. Happy house hunting."

Akane smiled and put her arm in Ranma's and the three of them left Gendou's office.

"So what was that about, Ranko?"

They met up with Shinji and Rei at Misato's apartment where the First and Second Child were staying. Misato said that she would help Akane and Ranma find a suitable place to live. When Ranko decided to stay with them they decided a bigger house would be needed. After all, as Ranma finally realized, a bigger house would give them more privacy. Ranko quietly wondered if Misato would show after their talk earlier today.

Ranko wasn't too surprised when Misato came bounding into the living room with a stack of available living spaces, complete with pictures. The woman had a knack for leaving work behind when she came home.

"Listen Ranko, there's no hard feelings I hope. I just had to ask, y'know. The Commander was just-" Misato began as she placed the binder on the coffee table.

"I know Misato, the Commander and us had a chat and Akane can't be a pilot anyway."

"Well, I just want to say I understand why you didn't want her to."

"I'm glad." 

Misato pulled the refrigerator open and pulled out a couple of bottles. "Alright who wants a beer?" She returned holding a couple of six packs and set them on the table. Misato and Shinji reached for one. Akane thought it was weird to be drinking in the afternoon, but she had had a scare at the station and . . .

"Oh no you don't." Ranko snatched the beer from Akane's hand and put it back in its place.

"Huh?"

"No student of mine is going to destroy all that hard work with alcohol. You'll just have to get used to non-alcoholic beer if you want a drink Akane."

Akane seemed a little peeved, but controlled herself. Ranko was probably right. Drinking isn't good for a martial artist; just look at what it did to Ranma's father. "Do you have anything else, Misato?"

"I think so. There might be some soda and there is always tap water."

"Geez Misato." Ranma gave her a wry look. "You're a real health nut aren't you?"

Misato shrugged and started leafing through the binder. Akane came back with a couple of sodas for everyone else and started looking at the pictures.

"Oh Ranma, isn't this exciting! Our own place!" Ranma blushed. Hentai images were still rolling through his mind. It wasn't his fault his mind was in the gutter; Ranko put him there.

"It should probably be somewhere in the open so we can practice your ki exercises. Don't want to disturb the neighbors." Akane and Ranma nodded at Ranko's observation. That limited the number of possibilities for them to look through. 

After about an hour, Akane and Rei were the only ones really paying attention to the book. Shinji and Misato had drunk at least four beers each and started playing poker. Ranma and Ranko had moved off to a corner of the room and were passing ki balls back and forth like a baseball. Wisely they stuck to using Ranko's ki since she could control it better than Ranma, who dropped it every now and then. It would've been a mess if Ranko didn't hold it up with her mind and bring it back into play.

"That's it." Akane said. She slumped back onto the couch and finished off the remains of her second soda. In front of her, Rei was looking at the best choices for a place to live. There were only five. 

"What do you think Ranma?"

Ranma came up behind Akane and put his arms around her shoulders. "I like anything you choose."

Boy was that dumb. Akane pulled her mallet out of thin air and smashed Ranma over the head. Not as hard as she used to Ranko noted. 

"What did you do that for you dumb-" Ranko intervened before Akane had to pound Ranma through the floor.

"This is important Ranma. If you two don't make this decision together, then it won't mean anything. It'll just be a place Akane chose for you two to live." Ranko took her hand off Ranma's mouth when she was sure he wasn't going to say something stupid.

"You'll be living with us too, Ranko. So you better get your two cents in also." Ranko nodded to Akane and hopped over the sofa to look at her choices. Ranma walked around after a little bit of grumbling that no one paid attention to.

"Wow, Akane. These are all really nice." Ranko commented as she spread the pictures out. Ranma looked at each one, making a few comments to himself before discarding two of them.

"I don't think either of these places suits us, Akane." Akane agreed. They two were placed back in the book. They were nice but a little to lavish, she didn't want to be somewhere that didn't remind her of home. "This one is nice, but it's more for raising a family not for-" Ranma stopped when Akane's eye twitched a little and Ranko hit him under the table. "Ahem, I mean this one is good. We should keep it in for consideration." Ranko smiled at Ranma's tactful recovery. 

The next one was much like that last one. A two story building with a white picket fence. Ranko wasn't about to argue the fact that it did look like a family house. But then she wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud. The last one was much more interesting. It was an old Japanese style with columns in front of the house holding up the eaves. It rested on a hill and had a gravel trail running up to the steps at the front of the house. It was also two stories, but it also had a large yard and was surrounded by trees. In the background you could just make out one of the three lakes in Tokyo-3.

"Hey, Akane. Isn't this a temple?" Ranko pointed to the last one. Ranma peered at it himself and nodded.

"Yeah, I know, but it seemed like a nice place with such a large yard for training and the lake nearby. But it's a bit further out than the others. It just stuck with me for some reason."

"Yeah, I like it too." Ranko commented.

Ranma looked at it carefully. "Do you suppose they'll deliver that far out?" Akane smacked him in the head. Ranma still called for take out whenever she cooked. "Ow, I mean I like it too."

"Great." Misato woke up from her place on the floor. "Let's go over there and take a look." Shinji helped the staggering brunette to her feet, that or he was using her to keep himself steady.

Rei sighed and looked at Ranko. "I think I'll ask Shinji to become a martial artist. He isn't very good with his alcohol." The three martial artists had a good laugh at that and agreed whole-heartedly. 

"Wow this place looks even better close up." Akane walked up the stone path to the front of the temple. It had a red stained roof and the walls were a tan color with light brown trim. The surrounding area was a large open field for the most part. Then about a hundred feet out the hill began its gentle slope. At the beginning of the walkway, they passed through an old iron fence connected to an eight-foot wall. Beyond the clearing was a small forest that ran into a lake and beyond that was a small mountain. It was quite splendiferous. 

They all made their way into the building, which looked more like a house on the inside. As they first entered, on the left was a sitting room and on the right was an entryway to the kitchen and a small eating area. The hallway in between led to the dining room, which was conjoined to the living area. Two sliding doors in the living area opened up to the backyard. The stairs at the end of the hallway led them to the master bedroom and a couple of smaller rooms. 

"What do you think, Ranma?" Akane asked while snuggling up to him. 

"I . . I really like it Akane-chan. I think it's perfect."

"Me too. Ranko?"

Ranko poked her head into the master bedroom where Akane and Ranma were. "Huh?"

"What do you think?"

Ranko smiled at the happy couple. "I think it's wonderful Akane-chan."

"Then it's settled." Misato said. "Here are the keys we used to get in. Be sure to give me a call if you need some help or a house warming party." Misato left the room mumbling to herself. "Now if only I can get Shinji and Rei out of my apartment."

Shinji and Rei walked past Misato and scowled. They were the entire reason her apartment was at all neat. She could at least show some gratitude. "So this is it, huh?"

"Yep."

"Isn't this far from NERV and school?" Rei asked. She watched Ranma and Akane embracing each other. I wonder if Shinji would let me do that again? Ranko was also watching the loving couple, but she seemed to be frowning slightly. Jealousy? For which one? Ranma and Akane both think of Ranko as family, so what is she upset about?

"It's a little far." Ranma said. "But we can always take the faster way."

"What's that?"

Ranma held Akane tight and started floating upwards. Akane had never seen Ranma do this before and gasped. "Ranko and I can go pretty fast flying."

Akane locked her legs around Ranma's waist as the ascended higher. "Ranma! Wh-When did you learn how to fly?"

"Ranko taught me. I'm getting pretty good at it, ne?" Ranko nodded. Akane just held on, not wanting to look foolish and fall. Akane's squirming was starting to have an effect on him so he decided to land before things got embarrassing.

Rei and Shinji hadn't moved from where they stood. This time both were gaping at Ranma's surprise. The normally cool Rei lost all of her composure and batted her eyes in shock. It didn't seem like much, but for Rei, that's a downpour of emotion.

"Ranko, you're gonna show me how to do that aren't you?" Akane was practically pleading with her, who could resist?

"When you're ready Akane-chan."

Misato soon left with Rei and Shinji, leaving the three friends in there new home. Ranko took a quick flight over to NERV headquarters and picked up Ranma's and her things. There wasn't much since Ranma traveled light and Ranko could put it all in her pack. Flying that pack was not very fun, but doable. When she returned she discovered that they do deliver out this far. Ranma and Akane were enjoying a couple orders from the 'Chinese Cuisine'. Ranko set their stuff down and joined them on the floor. 

"Looks good." Ranko opened one of the lids and breathed in the bouquet. 

"Dig in, Ranko." Akane handed her a pair of chopsticks. 

"Hey, Ranma."

"Hmm?" Ranma looked up from shoveling some chow mein into his mouth to see Ranko lying on her back two feet off the ground. She was eating some of her own food from a very relaxed position. Ranma smiled at the dare and concentrated on lifting himself off the ground. Before he got too far, Akane held his pant leg to keep him from floating off.

Ranma grinned and set the food down so he could lift Akane onto his lap. She giggled happily and fed him a few pieces of chicken from her carton. 

"This ain't so bad. I'm glad you guys came, it was getting pretty depressing without my new family around." Ranko floated by and placed some shrimp in Akane's mouth in her own version of a flyby.

"Course now we're gonna have to look for some furniture." Ranma noted. He was beginning to tire from holding himself and Akane up for so long, but it was good training. 

"Hey, Akane. I think your fiancée is getting tired."

"Hmm?" Akane saw a bit of sweat running down the side of his face. "Baka. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It seemed like good training to me. Don't worry, I can go on for a while-ah!" Ranma fell unceremoniously to the floor, Akane still on his lap. He groaned and closed his eyes to block at his own special little pain. Akane and Ranko giggled and cooed at his pain, making silly faces and asking if they should kiss it to make it better.

"Geez, that hurt. You didn't have to tickle me, Ranko."

Akane giggled some more as she nuzzled up to Ranma. "Don't worry Ranma-kun, I'll make it all better." She fairly well purred the last part into his ear. This made him groan a little more, not from the pain. "Well, what do you know, you seem to be getting better all on your own."

This time Ranko fell to the ground unable to contain her laughter. Ranma and Akane just stared at her and simultaneously got an evil look on their faces. Ranko opened her eyes when she was able to calm down and saw to grinning people kneeling on either side of her. "What?"

And the tickle-fest began. 

"No, no, stop, . . . hahaha . . . I can't . . . nohahahah!!" Ranko squirmed and tried her best stop the probing fingers.

Ranma looked up at Akane. "You suppose we can make her laugh so hard she pees?"

"I don't know. Let's ask her." They stopped and looked down at the twitching hysterical girl. "Ranko, are you gonna pee if we keep tickling you?"

"Hahahaha . . . no way you . . . hehe. . bad students . . . you can't make-" Akane resumed, causing Ranko to curl up into a ball trying to hide her sensitive areas. "Hahahah . . . okay . . . you-"

"What was that, Ranko-chan?"

"Aaaaaahhhahahahaha. . . I said yes, you can make me pee!!"

Ranma and Akane stopped and sat kneeling on either side of the redhead, smiling. "I guess you were right Ranma."

"Who woulda thunk it?"

Below them a quivering mass of nerves was beginning to relax. "Bad bad students, picking on your teacher."

"We'll see you in the morning, Ranko-chan. Good night." Akane kissed Ranko on the forehead and started pulling on Ranma's sleeve.

"Good night, Ranko-chan." Ranma got out as he got to his feet.

Ranko watched the couple walk up the stairs to their bedroom. She loved them both so much, Ranko was very happy now that they were here. "Good night, Ranma, Akane."

Ranko picked up her fallen Chinese food carton and upended it in her mouth, finishing the leftover scraps and left it with the others. Taking a moment to stare out at the stars, Ranko stretched her body and yawned. If home was were the heart is, then Ranko was finally home.

She picked up the sleeping bag from her pack and laid it out in the living room and quickly fell asleep, the moon shining down over her and the stars twinkling brightly.

The next morning was quiet and peaceful. There was something about the temple that made everything seem tranquil. Birds were singing, the sun was shining, and Ranko was enjoying every minute of it. They didn't have much in the way of food at the temple yet so Ranko made some tea to drink as she watched the sun rising over the mountains.

With the sun further along and her tea finished, it was time to start a new day. Normally, running into Ranma's room and throwing him out the window would've been the first thing she would've done, but the sounds he and Akane were making last night suggested he may no be prepared. 

Knocking on the door, Ranko pressed her ear to the wood, listening for the sounds of movement. There was a low moan, someone was waking and it sounded like Akane. There were sounds of whispering followed by another low moan from Akane.

'Damn. They must've waited until they could get some time alone if they're still going.'

Ranko sighed and walked downstairs and took her bath. 'I hope they're not like this all the time. I'll have to start morning exercises on my own.' There was a small piece of Ranko's mind that wondered what it must be like to be in their position. Having someone wake up next to you and be totally in love with that person and know they are in love with you. Of course, this line of thinking led to a few naughty images, flashing through her head. Ranko blushed slightly and dunked her head under the water.

Ranko was finishing her bath just as Ranma and Akane walked in. They were both completely naked after taking their clothes off behind the changing screen. Ranma still had his arms around Akane's waist as she led him to the furo.

Everyone stopped as they got a good look at each other. Ranko squeaked in surprise and dunked her body back into the water she was stepping out of. Ranma and Akane blushed.

"Uhm, hi guys." Ranko peeked her head over the edge of the furo. "Hey Akane, could you hand me the towel behind you." Ranma had stayed hidden behind Akane to hide his . . . manliness. This of course, left certain portions of Ranma touching certain portions of Akane. Keeping her body in front of Ranma, she reached around to the towel rack next to her and threw Ranko the first towel she came across. 

"Thanks." Rising out of the tub as carefully as possible, Ranko hid herself from Ranma with the towel. It hardly seemed necessary since he had his eyes shut so tightly he couldn't squeeze a tear out. Akane apologized as Ranko walked past them and into the changing area.

"Well?"

Akane sighed then realized Ranma's reaction to the whole thing. It was hard to miss since it was poking her in the butt. "She's gone Ranma. I see you liked what you saw, pervert."

Ranma opened his eyes, "Hey, I can't help it. Men don't have control over these sorts of things."

Akane smirked and rubbed her backside against him, eliciting a groan in response. "It's okay, Ranma. It doesn't take a man to see Ranko is beautiful. You just better remember the woman you love."

"Oh god, how can I forget her. Wonder where she is?"

Akane turned and jabbed him in the gut. "Baka."

Ranma winced slightly but the smile never left his face. "C'mon, you know you're the only one for me." Ranma embraced her and gave her a long passionate kiss. 

Ranko's voice carried into the bathroom from outside. "You guys had better hurry up or we'll be late for school."

Ranma and Akane broke their kiss and sighed. "Hai." The two finished their bath with only a few more distractions and met Ranko waiting for them on the front steps of the temple. 

"You guys ready to go?"

"Hai."

Ranko stood up and handed Ranma her pack. "I better take Akane this time until I'm sure you're strong enough to carry her the entire way, okay?"

Ranma nodded and took her pack. 

"So when are you going to teach me how to fly?" Ranko picked Akane up on her back and held her up under her legs.

"I suppose I can show you some things during school when you're assisting me." Akane nodded and held on to Ranko as they lifted into the air. "Let's go Ranma."

"Hai."

Ranma was right; it didn't take long for them to fly to school. It was about a five-minute flight at a controlled speed, but by the end Ranma was breathing very hard. Halfway through the flight, Ranko was forced to slow down a bit and eventually she was dragging him along. 

When they finally landed, Ranma fell to his knees, forcing himself to relax after straining his mind and body to its limit. Akane was by his side asking if he was alright.

Ranko took her backpack from Ranma and looked around at the crowd of students who had seen them land. She held back her slight fatigue, not wanting to look bad in front of her students. Many of them started asking questions about how they were able to fly, was Ranma feeling well, can they fly too. "Save your questions for my class, right now you should get ready for school." This helped the crowd disperse, but some stayed behind to help Ranma since they were in Ranko's first period class.

Ranma stood up under his own power after a few minutes, but leaned slightly on Akane. 

"You feeling better, Ranma?"

"Yeah, just a little tired, Ranko. I'm glad you told me not to carry Akane, I don't think I would've made it even half way."

Ranko smiled. "Don't worry, you'll get there. Akane, I'll see you at third period. Later." Ranko walked off followed by some of her students.

"We should get to class too, Ranma." Akane motioned.

"Hai."

Everyone stood in their lines facing the front of the class and its instructor, Ranko. A young man in the front line and furthest to the left commanded everyone to bow, kneel, meditate, and stand facing the master, bowing once again. Ranko liked the traditional style.

"Good afternoon class. I believe many of you know my first student, Ranma Saotome, this is his fiancée, Akane Tendo. She will be assisting me during the last four periods of the day until the end of the semester then she will be here all day. I expect you to treat her with the same respect you show me. Like Ranma she is learning the very advanced techniques of ki manipulation. If you have questions or need assistance, you can go to either one of us for help." Turning to Akane, Ranko bowed slightly, "Tendo-san, please warm up the class."

"Hai, Ranko-sensei."

Ranko was very pleased with Akane. This was the last class of the day, but Ranko had her warming up the previous three classes. She fell right into the roll of assistant instructor. There were still some rough spots and Ranko had to tell her what she wanted them to practice. Most of it was pretty easy though. This was not Furikan so most of the people here had no martial arts training. Ranko figured the first semester would be spent working on the basics; front kick, turning kick, sidekick, and punches. 

There were some students who were fairly talented. Nothing at her level much less at Akane's, but if she had half a dozen years, some of them could be at Akane's level. 

Ranko sighed. She couldn't believe she was already thinking of staying here a couple years. She never stayed in one place for long while she was growing up. Her great grandmother always had her training in some new martial art or sending her off to fetch rare herbs from dangerous areas.

'I hope I don't start going soft.' Taking a deep breath, she started a few complicated mid-air katas. She finished about the same time Akane bowed to her for instruction. "Thank you, Tendo-san. Everyone pair up, one of you grab a blast pad, and begin with a front kick followed by a jab and reverse punch." Ranko demonstrated on one of the students who had a red and black pad in his arms. She used just enough strength to force the young woman back a couple of feet. "Thirty on either side, go."

As everyone began to practice, Ranko called Akane over so they could continue where they left off last period. "Alright, Akane, find your aura." After a moment, a red flame developed around Akane. "Good, now focus it into your hands." This took a while longer. Akane wasn't as good as Ranma or herself by a long shot, but the fact that she had control over her ki at all was a testament to her skill. Ranko remembered how quickly it happened last period when Ranma was in class. He did his usual taunting which made Akane very angry, but she didn't lash out at him, for once.

A red ball of energy started to form in her hands, swirling and spinning like a whirlpool. "Good, now take it back into yourself and focus it into your hands again. Do this ten times to warm up and then we'll begin something new." Akane nodded and continued her practice. It was strange. Ranko could remember Akane throwing a ki blast at Ranma's Eva after a moment of hesitation, why did it take so long now? Every time Ranma taunted her, she could focus everything that much easier. Was Akane's aura somehow dependent upon how much anger she had within her? 

Ranko watched Akane beginning to form her ki ball for the fourth time in as many minutes. It didn't take Ranma that long. Perhaps the nature of her ki caused Akane to develop slower than Ranma and herself. So unless Akane is angry all the time, she won't be able to train as hard. Ranko frowned, she would have to help Akane find a new aura, but doing something like that took a great deal of mental conditioning. It could create a whole new Akane, a different Akane.

That didn't sound good. It could even be dangerous for her. 

'There has to be an easier way. A positive mental focus for her to use.' Ranko noticed, not for the first time, that Akane was mumbling to herself during the exercise.

"Akane?"

"What!?" Her voice was very gruff and throaty, an after affect of her mental state. Ranko didn't pay any attention to it, since she had expected it.

"What are you mumbling?"

Akane took a moment to let herself settle down, so as not to insult Ranko. "I'm telling myself all the bad things that have happened to me. It's my best way of focusing on my ki."

Ranko nodded, she knew this as well. "I mean, literally, what are you telling yourself?"

"Uhm, it's kinda personal and I don't want you to get upset at me."

"It's alright, Akane. I'm very aware that you have to focus on things that make you angry, even if you've forgiven them."

Akane sighed and laid out a small sample of what she was thinking of. "I think about my father engaging me to someone I didn't know, those morons who attacked me every day at Furikan, Nabiki selling pictures of me, and . . . uhm . . . I think about when I found you with a gun in my house."

Ranko nodded her understanding. "I thought you would've used memories of Ranma acting like a jerk or something."

"I used to, but now every time I think about him, I can't get mad the way I used to."

The smaller girl cupped Akane's shoulder with a warm smile. "That's wonderful Akane. I'm sure he feels just as deeply about you."

"Then how come he still makes fun of me?"

"You mean like last period?" Akane nodded. "I'm surprised you haven't figured that out yet."

Akane started turning red with anger and shook her shoulder free of Ranko's grasp. "Don't you start now, too."

"Akane, Ranma doesn't make fun of you to hurt you. He does it because he knows you'll get mad. He's trying to add the fuel to your fire you need to focus your ki. I'm sure he takes no pleasure in taunting you. Ranma might've stopped a long time ago if he thought you didn't need his help to focus."

"I never thought about it like that."

Ranko smirked sadly. "I know. That's one of the major problems with your aura, you'll start to do things without thinking the more powerful you become."

"What?!"

"Akane, I've been thinking about this. I'm not gonna train you anymore with your ki."

Akane looked crushed and tears started to well up in her eyes. "But Ranko, I don't want to be left behind while you and Ranma grow stronger. I want to be right beside you guys."

"I know Akane, but it's too dangerous the way you are now. You know your aura reflects anger. It's an old aura from the feel of it. I think you need to do some soul searching and find a new source for your power, something that reflects who you are now."

"Hai sensei." Her tears stopped but she was still upset. "Would love work? I love Ranma."

"I know you do, Akane, but I don't know if that would be enough. You know what they say, 'there is a thin line between love and hate'."

"Yeah, they say that, don't they. I'll keep searching, thank you sensei."

"For now, why don't you help the class? It'll get your mind off of things so you can attack this with a fresh start."

"H-Hai." Akane bowed once and ran off to watch over Ranko's students.

"I hope you can do it, Akane."

The school day ended as it normally would, a loud ring followed by a rush of students eager to do something to help them forget the past seven hours of boredom. Some of them would be going home to do a little homework in front of the television. Some would hang out with friends. Others would even be off for a job somewhere asking the next person in line if they wanted fries with that. The last five would not be doing anything so . . . normal. Knowing that you are humanity's only hope kind of puts the pressure on you a bit.

"So what's wrong with Akane? She's been pretty quiet." Shinji was holding onto Rei's hand as he walked alongside the fence, next to Ranko.

"I know." Ranko looked at the forlorn friend and sighed, she was still a bit upset to do that to Akane. What choice did she have though? Akane may not be dangerous now, but she sure was on her way. Ranko kept a secret from Ranma; Akane could end up being more powerful than either of them together, but she would not be able to control it. If she was still using memories of her friends to fuel her anger, they would all be in danger. "She's just got some things to work out."

Ranma was hanging back to watch over Akane. She hadn't told him about Ranko's decision. She wasn't sure how to react to that. She couldn't get angry with Ranko. The redhead was simply looking out for her well being. Akane had never thought her power could endanger her friends.

Ranma hated seeing her like this. He'd do anything to make her happy, but he didn't know how. His hand slipped into hers and squeezed. Akane didn't realize she was even being held at first.

"Akane what's wr-"

His hand was suddenly jerked out of her grasp as a large blond boy suddenly lifted Ranma into the air. Akane recognized him from one of Ranko's classes. 

"Taki! What the hell are you doing?"

Taki didn't even look at her. "Ranma, prepare to die!" With that he pulled his hand back and threw it into Ranma's face.

Ranma wasn't about to take this from Taki. He swung his body backwards, avoiding the blow and kicked Taki in the face. Twisting out of the boy's grip, Ranma took a casual stance. "What's with you Taki? You know you're nowhere near good enough to beat me."

Holding his face where he had been kicked, Taki stood up slowly. "I am going to beat you though Ranma." Taki pulled a gun out of his pocket and aimed it shakily at Ranma. 

"Jesus, what are you doing with a gun?!"

"I'm gonna kill you Ranma."

"Wh-What? Why . . . ?"

Taki let his gaze wander over to Ranko. "I'll prove myself. You'll see I have more than you'll ever want." Taki smiled like a madman, staring down the sight of his gun.

"R-Ranma!"

"Stay back Akane!" Ranma never took his eyes off Taki. "He may decide to hurt you too. Don't worry. I can take care of this idiot!" Akane was held back by Shinji, she couldn't let this happen. She looked over to Ranko who was working her way closer to Taki, but still to far to stop him before he pulled the trigger. In Ranko's hand, a ball of ki was building, big enough to knock Taki out if she could hit him before he saw it flying at him. 

Ranma could not dodge bullets. Not really. He was very fast, and he could dodge people. Taki's shaky grip on the gun may be enough for him avoid the gun's aim, but he couldn't just rush off before Taki commits himself to pulling the trigger.

He didn't have to wait long. With an evil smile Taki pulled the trigger aimed as best as could at Ranma.

The shot rang through Akane's ears. Her mouth opened. She knew she must be screaming, but couldn't hear the sound. Only the gun shot. She watched Ranma collapse against the fence, his face, an expression of pain written all over it. A tiny blue sphere cut through the air out of the corner of Akane's eye.

Taki screamed as the gun went flying through the air. He'd been planning on emptying the entire magazine into the arrogant bastard. The blue energy ball had stung his hand a great deal. His anger helped him to forget the pain however. Ranma was still moving, sliding down the wall and leaving a trail of blood, but in that moment Taki could only think the pigtailed boy had survived.

The knife flipped into view as Taki charged the down boy.

Ranma cried in pain. His shoulder hurt like hell, blood seemed to be draining out of his arm. He'd never seen so much blood. 

The cry. Akane could hear his cry; Ranma was still alive, but Taki was still going after him. That boy was going to kill Ranma. Akane's Ranma! No damn boy was going to hurt the person she cared for. She'd be damned if the boy lived another day for hurting Ranma! "YOU BASTARD!!!"

Taki was on a straight line for Ranma when a girl in a school uniform suddenly materialized in front of him. Where the hell did she come from? It didn't matter; she was in his way!

Akane spun out of Taki thrusting knife and grabbed his wrist as he went by. Using her impressive strength, she suddenly jerked the boy in the opposite direction, ripping apart the bones that held his elbow together. There was no apparent injury since she hadn't broken the skin, but the way his forearm hung in Akane's arm proved that he wouldn't be using it for a long time. She wasn't done however. Continuing to swing Taki by his broken arm, she built up a lot of speed until she decided it was enough and ended it. Akane's leg lashed out, kicking Taki in the chest. She could hear the loud snaps as either side of his collarbone were suddenly crushed from the impact. 

Ranko watched, horrified, as she saw the life in Akane's eyes go dead. They now glowed with an unearthly fire that promised pain and death. Something had to be done before Akane called Taki. 

Ranko jumped in front of Akane and held back her fist before it slammed into the boy, delivering the final deathblow. "No, Akane. You've got to fight it! Akane-"

Akane snarled and used her free hand to quickly backfist Ranko on the side of the head. She fell to the ground, skidding into Rei's feet. Akane turned her attention back to Taki and prepared to strike once again. 

She was feeling like a glutton for punishment as Ranko charge back into the fight. Ranko didn't waste time for words this time. Akane was too fargone for that. She hoped that she could slow the crazed girl before Taki was killed. 

A red blur found its way in-between Akane and Taki. It was in the way of her flying fist, but the strength she had behind it would break through concrete walls without trouble. Ranko's hand flew out, deflecting the attack just enough to barely save herself and the boy in Akane's grasp. The next second, a blue ki ball from Ranko's hand collided with Akane's torso. The impact didn't do much but distract the crazed girl long enough to note Ranko.

"Akane, you have to stop." She had to get her mind off of hurting Taki. "Think about Ranma, Akane. He needs your help right now. Go to Ranma, Akane." Akane stared at her blankly for a moment before a bit of life returned to her eyes. The fire died down a bit and she threw the listless body in her hand to the ground.

Akane was strong. Strong enough to send the boy flying in the opposite direction even with his bulk. Taki slammed bodily into the cement, bouncing once of the sidewalk and landing in the middle of the street, bleeding from a cracked skull.

This had all taken less than ten seconds. One second for Akane's aura to spring to life. Five seconds for Akane to break Taki's arm and collar bone twice. Four seconds to leave him in a bloody pile in the center of the road. As far as Akane was concerned, that was ten seconds too long to help Ranma. 

She was at his side quickly. There was blood running down his arm, soaking his blue Chinese shirt. Akane didn't think, she just acted. It was all she could do in this state. Her hands reached up to his shoulder, trying to stop the blood. There was just so much. She couldn't stop it. Tears started to run down her eyes as she willed the blood to stop flowing. If she had been paying attention, Akane would have noticed the red aura fading and a new aura forming on its edges.

The aura was not the usual flame that surrounded Ranma or Ranko, but a star, brightest at its center. There were other faint wafts of blue, red, and yellow that sparked outward from Akane's body. This was not anger, Ranko wasn't sure what it was but it was just as strong as Akane's old aura. It was reflexive and wouldn't last for long, but hopefully it will help Akane with whatever she was trying to do. 

Ranma was beginning to feel faint. He couldn't think of anything more ridiculous. Some weak boy had shot him in the arm and here he was, the 'man amongst men' as his mother had said, and he was fainting. Sure some would say that blood loss will do that to anyone, but he was Saotome Ranma.

A warm glow started to spread through his body. Akane was holding her hands over his shoulder. Her eyes were shut as she concentrated, her aura starting to intensify, causing her hair to wave lightly in the air. She looked beautiful. His angel. 

The warm glow started to get intense. Ranko had to shield her eyes as she saw Akane holding Ranma's shoulder. Ranma gave out a short scream that ended in a few moments. The light slowly faded. Akane was slumped over in Ranma's lap, unconscious. Ranma was also unconscious, but the blood had stopped running down his arm. The bullet wound had been mended; there wasn't even a scar to prove he had been shot at all.

Ranko sighed and walked over to Taki, checking his pulse. He was alive for now. She pulled the cellular phone from her backpack and dialed up the local hospital and gave them a small accounting of what happened. They would call the police for her. She hung up the phone and walked over to Shinji and Rei who were checking on Ranma and Akane.

"What happened to them Ranko?" Shinji looked up from where he was crouching beside the unconscious couple.

"They'll be fine in a couple of hours." Ranko was actually thinking about Akane's actions. She was angry, but she did not kill Taki like she had expected. Maybe there was an undercurrent to Akane's anger that didn't make her as dangerous as Ranko had first thought. The situation had been specific; someone had hurt a person she cared for. Was that it? Could Akane keep her anger, but focus it on protecting others? Things may work out, but was this only a temporary fix?

Ranko sat outside the NERV infirmary waiting for Ritsuko to finish with Ranma and Akane. Shinji and Rei had been called off for their weekly sync testing, leaving Ranko by herself. Thoughts of Akane were occupying her time. What was she going to do? Akane was dangerous. She could've killed Taki, but she didn't. Ranko had called the hospital to check up on him; he was stable, but it would be a while before he can regain consciousness. The police were watching over him though he won't be any trouble without the use of his arms.

Ritsuko stepped out of the infirmary, a clipboard in her hand. "Well, your friends are fine. They are just exhausted. So what happened? There is nothing physically wrong with Akane, but Ranma has lost a bit of blood. There is no wound on him, though. How did he lose so much blood? Does he have some sort of blood disease?"

"No, he was shot."

Ritsuko looked up from her clipboard and frowned. "People don't lose blood because they were shot once a long time ago."

Ranko took a moment and sat back in her chair. "He was shot earlier this afternoon."

"He what? Where? I didn't see anything."

"I know. Akane used her ki to heal him as much as possible. I think she was focusing on stopping the blood flow so she didn't replace his lost blood. Healing takes a lot of energy. That's why she is so out of it."

"She can heal people with her ki?"

"Yeah, well, she's not supposed to be able to, but the control over her ki is rather unstable."

"Uhm, I'm not sure I understand."

Slumping over in her chair, Ranko through her head into her hands. "I know, Dr Akagi. I've been thinking about it all day."

Ritsuko watched Ranko for a moment. She looked upset and disturbed, which was not like Ranko. Even when she was arguing with the Commander there was a certain amount of spunk. "What's going on Ranko? Is there something wrong with Akane?"

"I don't know. Yes. No." Inside that room was someone Ranko didn't know how to help though she was trying her hardest. There seemed to be no way out of this. If Akane continued she would end up doing something she might regret. If she stopped, well, Ranko wasn't sure she would like that either. "I wish I had the time to start over with Akane."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know if it would do any good."

Ritsuko held out her hand. "Let's go time my office and find out." 

Ritsuko's office was more plush than most doctor's offices. She had her degrees up on the wall behind a large metal desk. There were a few potted plants, a filing cabinet, a water cooler, and a few pictures of cats hanging around the room. 

Ranko wasn't afraid of cats any longer, but they still sent a chill down her spine every now and then. This was the big thing with Ritsuko; she loved cats even if she didn't have any pets. Ranko made it a priority not to visit Ritsuko's apartment if she could help it. The place was surrounded with representations of cats, plush, poster, or other. 

She took a seat at the long couch and rested. It had been a long day and she still had Ranma and Akane's families to worry about.

"Well? Let's talk."

"I'm worried about Akane."

Ritsuko didn't say anything. She already knew this, but if she waited long enough Ranko would get to the point herself. She might even think of an answer to her problems.

"I told Akane I wasn't going to teach her anymore. She was quiet the rest of the day. I was kinda surprised she didn't blow up in my face."

"Why would she do that? When I saw her in the hangar she seemed like a nice enough girl."

"Oh that's because of Ranma. Since he came around she's been much less violent. It doesn't help when she uses her ki though. Akane gets real angry and she'll hurt people."

"What do you mean, Ranko?"

Ranko laid back on the couch, her hands behind her head. "Akane needs to learn how to focus her anger before . . . something happens."

"Like Taki?"

"Sort of. Akane can become much more powerful the angrier she is. Somehow she held back with Taki, but I don't know if it'll happen that way next time."

"Ranko, shouldn't you help her for that reason. She's dangerous now, but what she be like without guidance, how dangerous will she be then?"

"I don't know. What if something terrible does happen? I wouldn't want to be the person who has to deal with her."

"Ranko." Ritsuko stood up and got herself a glass of water. She offered one to Ranko, but she turned it down. "You ever here of taking the good with the bad? Akane is your friend. You can't just abandon her. If you love her then you should trust her. Whatever problems should arise then you'll just have to face it together."

"Yeah I suppose so." It wasn't pretty. There wasn't going to be any perfect solution, just this temporary fix. "I've got to get going. The Tendo's and Saotome's are going to be coming in on the train in a little while."

"Do you need any help?"

Ranko stood up and collected her backpack before leaving the room. "No thanks, we already got it covered. Let me know when either of them wakes up. Later." She left with a small wave, but still a little depressed with the turn of events.

The train arrived on time. The sun was out and there was a slight breeze that kept everyone cool. Ranko had been waiting for about ten minutes before they arrived. All of them. 

It was amazing. They were all there. The only odd thing in the bunch was a giant panda bear that had taken Mr. Saotome's place. Ranma had told Ranko about Jusenkyuo's training grounds. Coming from the Amazons, she had already heard about it. Great grandmother had told her that the pools in the training grounds were cursed. Mr. Panda was one such curse. Genma and Ranma had gone to Jusenkyuo a long time ago. Ranma had gotten in a lucky shot that sent his father into one of those pools. When he realized he had become a panda they left the training grounds quickly. As the curse went, Genma would turn into his cursed form when hit with cold water and return to normal with warm water.

Ranma said that he and his dad went to Jusenkyuo when he was about six. That didn't make sense. How could Ranma have taken down his father when he was six? Genma had trained Ranma in the martial arts, shouldn't he have beaten Ranma pretty easily?

"Ah Ranko, it is so good to see you." Soun came off the train first and gave Ranko a big hug. "Where are Ranma and Akane?"

"They'll be around. They had to take care of a few things at NERV."

"Is Akane working there too?" Kasumi was dressed in her blue housedress and a ribbon in her hair. She was as cheery as the first day Ranko had met her. Ranko wondered if she and Dr. Tofu had gotten together yet.

"No Akane just wanted to see what Ranma is doing. Well, should we get going?"

Nodoka came up to give Ranko a hug. She was as old as Genma but had aged much better. She still looked like she was in her thirties and very capable. Mrs. Saotome carried her family's katana with her everywhere. It was held in her right hand, bound in a white pearl silk. "Is your place far from here?"

Ranko shrugged. "Kind of, but I got a van on the street waiting for us." Nodoka nodded and they followed Ranko to the street below. 

The ride was a little crowded but they managed to get to the temple without stepping on too many toes.

"What an interesting place to live, Ranko." Kasumi was making her way up the walk. She started when she saw the temple. "It's a wonderful view you have up here."

"Yeah it is."

"Hey Ranko." Nabiki came out of the house followed by the Saotomes. "Where's all your furniture?"

"Oh, Ranma told me you guys were coming today during lunch so we didn't have enough time to go get some yet."

"Well, we are just going to have to change that." Nodoka couldn't wait to do something for Ranma. She hadn't seen him in twelve years when Genma took him on the training trip so she wanted to be the best mother she could be. "Kasumi, would you and Nabiki like to come along?"

"Yes, Auntie Saotome, that would be wonderful."

"Of course, Aunt Saotome, I wouldn't want family to be charged too much." Nabiki said, and more than likely she would be getting Nodoka a forty- percent discount on anything she wanted. It was just the kind of person Nabiki was. Somehow she was even able to get the owners of the stores to pay her for bringing them the business. She was the one that kept the Tendo dojo out of bankruptcy. 

Genma and Soun would stay behind and play a game of go like they usually did when they got together. Ranko liked Nodoka quite a bit. The first time they met, Nodoka had treated her like a daughter. They spent their afternoon getting to know each other. Nodoka had taken her to the Nerima shopping district to shop for dresses. Ranko had never been big on dresses, but she didn't want to disappoint her 'adopted mother'.

"Uhm, thanks . . . mom."

"Of course, Ranko. Now come along dears."

Akane and Ranma returned to the temple in the late afternoon. Akane was wrapped around Ranma's waist as he carried a grocery bag, a slight blush crossing his face.

"Oh, hey, oyagi. When did you guys get here?"

Genma didn't look up from the game board. It was a ritual with Genma and Soun to cheat only when the other wasn't looking. "Ranko picked us up at the station at three. Where were you boy?"

"Uhm . . . I was . . . busy?"

Soun started his downpour of tears as he does whenever things become even slightly emotional. "Oh, my boy, it's so good to see the two of you spending so much time together. So tell me Ranma my boy, when is the wedding date set for? Some time later this week I assume because I wouldn't want my sweet young daughter to be living in sin!"

While Soun was giving his usual impassioned speech, he didn't notice Ranma and Akane blush a new shade of red most would compare to Ranko's hair. Ranma coughed and made a small excuse to enter the house. Akane followed claiming she needed to put away the groceries. 

"Did any of that seem strange to you, Saotome-san?"

Genma-panda held up a sign, 'Nope'.

"Hmm. Must've been my imagination."

Inside the house Akane followed Ranma to the kitchen and helped him put some of the groceries away. Occasionally she found herself clinging to Ranma if he got close enough. Eventually, she stopped letting go and just held him in place, letting their bodies press against each other. When she couldn't hold back anymore, her arms grabbed Ranma behind his head and leaned him down for another kiss. 

Recently, Akane had started to use her tongue when she kissed him. Ranma still wasn't used to it, but he certainly didn't hate it. Their kiss broke, but neither let go.

"Hey, Akane, what's going on?"

"What do you mean, Ranma?"

His feet shuffled a little. "I mean how come you're so affectionate to me all of a sudden?"

"Ranma we've been sleeping together for the last week."

"Yeah, I know, but I was talking about this afternoon when I woke up. You haven't let me go since. Is there something wrong?"

Akane laid her head on Ranma's chest. She could hear his heart beating slow and regular. "Baka. Can't you tell I'm worried about you?"

"I know you were, but I'm fine thanks to you."

"Yeah, well, maybe I just realized how important you are to me and I felt terrible thinking you might have been taken from me."

She could hear him take a deep breath, his chest rising a little. Ranma's bent over slightly to kiss her on the head. "Nothing is going to take me from you. I love you. I also know you well enough to tell when you are lying to me."

Should she tell him? Akane could always find comfort with Ranma, but would he think of her if she couldn't continue with the martial arts? It had been their only common ground. They may not have liked each other much when they first met, but they had respected each other for the martial arts. Would this change anything for him? 

Akane repeated 'Ranma loves me' over and over again in her mind until she could tell him the truth. Thankfully Ranma waited as long as he did for her answer. She probably couldn't do this later. "I can't go with you."

"What?"

"It's too dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"Akane, that's nonsense. If anything, I attract more dangers to you than you do to me."

"No it's not that. Ranko told me how dangerous I am and earlier this afternoon when I thought you had been killed I . . . "

"What happened?"

A few tears started to roll down her cheeks. She smothered her face in his arms to wipe them away. "I hurt him. Bad. I wanted to keep going. Nothing would've stopped me. I even hurt Ranko. I . . . I couldn't stop myself. I wanted to kill that boy. If Ranko hadn't . . . I might have . . . oh, Ranma, I've become a monster!"

Ranma tightened his hold around Akane. "Don't say that. You are not a monster, Akane-chan. You are wonderful person."

Akane still cried into his shoulder. "All of that . . . training . . . and I couldn't stop myself. . . I almost . . . I almost became a murderer today, Ranma."

"No, Akane, you are not a murderer. You saved my life. Taki wanted to kill me and you stopped him. It was his fault, not yours."

The door opened then. Nodoka walked in followed by Ranko, Kasumi, and Nabiki. Akane didn't let go to look up at them. Her face was still filled with tears and she didn't want anyone to know something was wrong. This did nothing to hide Ranma's worried expression, something Nodoka would never miss.

"What is wrong, Ranma? Did something happen to Akane while at NERV?" She stood in the doorway to the kitchen, katana in her right hand.

"No mom. Everything is fine. We just need a minute." He noticed the bob of red hair just over his mother's shoulder. "Ranko could I talk to you for a minute."

"Uhm, sure Ranma."

Ranma kept his arm around Akane, not caring who noticed. Normally they would jump away from each other when either of their families were around. A scene like this would've gotten them married by the end of the day, knowing their fathers. He led her out of the kitchen and into the master bedroom. Ranko followed closely behind, a little worried about Ranma's attitude. He'd been entirely too serious, which was very rare. Akane crying into his arms could only mean she had been talking about what Ranko had told her during school.

She should've thought about this some more before telling Akane. Ranko might've come to the decision Ritsuko had. It would've saved Akane some pain.

"What the hell is going on Ranko?!" The door was closed and Akane was sitting by herself on the bed. Ranma turned on her as soon as he was satisfied no one else could hear. It probably wasn't true, but it didn't matter. "What did you tell Akane?"

"Ranma, it's not her fault."

"I want to hear Ranko's excuse." Pointing at Ranko with anger on his face. "What did you say that made Akane so upset?"

There was no getting out of this. Stick to the truth and take your medicine. "The truth."

"What?"

"Ranma, what do you know about Akane's ki?"

He was a bit confused now, but still plenty upset. He got that way whenever something hurt Akane. "Just what you told us. It's based on her top emotion, anger."

"That's right. That's also what I told Akane. I should've told her sooner, but I was hoping . . . I don't know what I was hoping for. A miracle. Something that would help her from herself."

"You're not making any sense."

Akane's tears slowed and she was facing out the window in their bedroom. The sky was getting dark. Stars were starting to show just above the horizon and she could hear the crickets. "It's beautiful out here."

"What?" Ranma stopped arguing with Ranko and sat on the bed beside Akane. "Akane?"

"I could be at peace here. I wouldn't get angry so often. I might even forget about it." Akane smiled at Ranma. "Maybe I can turn out to be more like Kasumi. Always calm and peaceful. Heh, maybe it'll help me to cook like she does."

Ranko kneeled down in front of her, placing her hands on Akane's knees. "No Akane. I was wrong. I'll continue to teach you. Will just do our best. If something happens, then we'll just deal with it later."

"Thanks Ranko." Akane smiled sadly at her friend. "But you were right the first time. We've proven that this afternoon. Things could've gotten a lot worse if I were more powerful. You can help though. I don't want to stop my martial arts. It's been a part of my life for too long. So has anger. That is something I can do without, though. My love for Ranma may make me a weaker fighter, but it is the only other thing in my life I can focus on. I will make it work." She grabbed one of Ranko's hands and held it tenderly in her own. "I don't want to hurt either one of you. The next time, you might not walk away with just a bruise on your cheek. I'm so sorry." 

Ranma hadn't been conscious during Akane's tantrum. The conversation wasn't doing anything to clear up the questions repeating in his head. Akane wasn't angry with Ranko, but she had obviously done or said something to upset her. What happened after Taki shot me? "What the heck are you guys talking about?"

Ranko went into a small description of what happened. Ranma looked wide-eyed between Ranko and Akane for a few moments. "You are going to stop training her in her ki?"

"No, we are . . . we are going to start over from the beginning." Ranko said.

"Won't that take a while?"

Akane answered for Ranko when the redhead dropped her head ashamed. "Yes . . . a long while."

"But . . . but what if you need to use your ki again to help someone?"

"I won't be of any help to anyone if I can't stop myself." She smiled at Ranma. "Hey, this just gives us more time to practice the basics. I'm still not as good as you or Ranko when it comes to pure skill."

"I'll help you any way I can, Akane."

"Me too." Ranko added.

"Thanks guys, but you know that most of this has to be done alone. But don't go worrying about me. I'll be back and training alongside of you before you know it." Akane gave them each a small hug of reassurance before letting go. "Why don't you two go back downstairs. We've got company to take care of. I'll be down in a minute."

Ranma wasn't going to fight her; he wouldn't have won anyway. Ranko and he stood up and left the room silently, closing the door behind them. Akane laid down on the bed she and Ranma shared and closed her eyes. Today had just been too much; her mind wandered to help her find the peace she was looking for, but all she saw was Taki, lying in a heap on the ground. This was going to take a while.

Outside, Ranma grabbed Ranko's arm before she could head down the stairs.

"Ranko, is it really as bad as you make it seem? I mean, we don't go crazy or anything and we're a lot more powerful than Akane."

"Ranma, I would like to say that I was wrong, but the very nature of Akane's aura is what is so dangerous. Akane is a nice person and one of my closest friends; I never wanted to hurt her. But it would've hurt her even more if I didn't stop her before something serious happened. You are wrong if you think we don't get as crazy as Akane when we use our ki."

Ranma frowned, and thought of all the times he used his ki. "I've never gotten so violent that I couldn't just stop when I wanted."

"Are you sure?"

"Well . . ."

"Think hard, Ranma. During practice in the Evas. Would you normally have walked into the trap I left for you? Anyone could see what you did was plain reckless. Or how about during the fight with the Angel. I was so confident with my abilities I forgot the Angel would still be stumbling around even without its head. People almost died because I didn't think. The control you and I feel comes from our confidence, it is also the major thing that separates us from Akane. We are not the most powerful because confidence can only take you so far, but anger can run so much deeper. It is also a lot harder to control. Even while she is just learning, it was already taking over. If she were as strong as we are Akane would be like a bomb waiting to go off. I don't know if we could stop her if that happened."

Ranma sobered quite a bit and leaned heavily against the banister over the stairs. "Is there anything we can do to help her?"

"No. What Akane said was true. Most of this will have to be done on her own. All we can do is give her our support and our love." Ranko reached out and hugged her brother. "Be strong, Ranma. Akane won't give up. It's not the kind of person she is. Let's get downstairs before people start wondering what we're doing up here."

Akane came down after a while, her face washed to hide the fact she had been crying. Ranko prepared some of her ramen for dinner and a salad. Everyone complemented her cooking and did their best not to mention the scene in the kitchen. The furniture Nodoka had bought them arrived a little after dinner and the family spent an hour putting everything in its place. Beds, nightstands, and drawers were set up in each of the bedrooms. A large futon and a small table was set up in the living rooms, and finally a respectable dining room set was brought in. The house really started to look like someone was living there with the furniture. This was definitely one of the benefits of having a mother who was well off.

'I wonder how she kept all her money with a husband like Genma?' Ranko had watched Mr. Saotome go through bottles of sake with Soun, always asking and never offering. He didn't work except to help Soun with his dojo every now and then, more then than now.

He'd also been keeping a close eye on Ranko since she asked about his curse during dinner. For some reason he got very edgy about the subject. She asked him about when he and Ranma were in Jusenkyuo or how his six-year-old son bested him. He changed the subject however, and started up conversations with someone else as quickly as possible, saying his memory wasn't so good.

'What is he hiding? Did something terrible happen that Ranma didn't remember? He won't even look me in the eye, like he's afraid of me, or guilty.'

"Meow."

Everyone but Ranko suddenly froze. Someone's cat had found itself in the temple and was now entering the living room. It was a small kitten with pink and purple hair and two purple bows on either side of its face. It sauntered into the living room and right up to Ranko, where it sat on her lap.

"C-C-C-Cat!!!" Ranma screamed and tripped over Akane who was sitting beside him on the floor. He froze in fear as he watched the cat stare at him before he screamed again and scrambled to his feet heading for the back door.

"Ranma!!" Akane ran after the frightened boy as he made a dust cloud, heading for the lake.

"What was that about?" Ranko stroked the cat absently as she watched the sad expressions on everyone else's face. Nodoka smacked her husband upside the head a few times before Kasumi answered. 

"It seems that Mr. Saotome," she said with some venom, "taught Ranma a very powerful yet dangerous technique, which has left him with a phobia for cats." Kasumi's was angrier than Ranko could remember her ever being. Genma hung his head as she stared daggers at him.

Ranko thought a moment, "Nekoken." It was little more than a whisper, but the kitten in her lap perked up quite suddenly and seemed to look angrily at Genma. 

Kasumi nodded. "How do you know of it, Ranko? Did someone in the Amazons tell you about it?"

Ranko shook her head. "No. I spent two years being exorcised of the demons the Nekoken left me with. How could you teach your own son such a terrible technique. I remember my own training in nightmares still, being covered with anchovies and tossed into a pit of hungry cats over and over again. It still keeps me from having a good nights sleep every now and again."

Genma just hung his head and said nothing. After a moment, he looked up at Ranko sadly but looked away quickly.

'Wait a minute. This is just too damned coincidental. Ranma visited Jusenkyuo about the same time I was abandoned by my father. He was raised as a martial artist since he was very young. We are both Japanese. People even say we look remarkably alike. Could it be? Is it possible?' "When did you train him in the Nekoken, Genma?!" She ignored the others when they told her to call the elder Saotome by his title.

He said nothing and didn't look at her. This did not go unnoticed by anyone. Nabiki was the first to catch on.

"From what I remember, it was before they visited Jusenkyuo." Nabiki said, a little wonder at what Ranko was implying. She knew about Ranko being abandoned by her father while on a training trip. Nabiki also knew that the Amazons were just a hop, skip, and a jump from the Jusenkyuo training grounds.

"What is it, Genma? Did you find some desperate woman on one of your training trips and knock her up? Is that it?! Is that why you abandoned me?"

Genma looked shocked at the accusation, but Ranko could see he was drowning in a stream of guilt at the same time. Nodoka's hand closed over the hilt of her katana when Genma didn't answer. Soun and Kasumi were paralyzed by what Ranko had said. What if it were true? It wouldn't be something they wouldn't expect from Genma. He had done a lot of questionable things to Ranma over the years. The engagement to Ukyo and taking him away from his mother for twelve years were two really good examples.

"N-No that's not-" Genma took off in the same direction Ranma had run off in but Ranko jumped ahead of him and knocked him to the floor.

"Tell me, Genma!! Where is she? What's happened to my mother? Do you even know or did you just abandon her like you did me?!" Ranko's aura had flared to life around her, giving her extra strength and speed; it also added a very effective measure of intimidation. 

"No, I never cheated on Nodoka!!"

"Oh come now, Genma. I came from somewhere and Mrs. Saotome would remember having a second child. Now who was she?!"

"Answer her, Genma." Nodoka held her katana high against Genma's throat, lightly cutting the skin and drawing out a bead of blood.

Nabiki was leaning forward, eager to hear how this all turned out. Soun was quiet, not sure what to think about his life-long friend. Kasumi responded as she normally would to surprises like these, "Oh, my."

Genma swallowed loud enough for everyone to hear, trapped and surrounded by two very dangerous women. "Your mother . . uhm . . you mother . . . you don't have one."

"WHAT?!!" An enraged Ranko grabbed the bald man by his gi and lifted him into the air with one hand. "What did you do to my mother, you bastard!!"

Genma brought his hands up trying to block his face from attack. "Nothing! I didn't do nothing to your mother! You never had one! You were never born!"

"YOU BASTARD!!!" Ranko threw him into the ground at her feet and started turning him into a bloody pulp. "YOU . . . GODDAMN . . . SON . . . Of . . . A . . ."

"Hey, what's going on?" Ranma asked as he and Akane walked back into the living room. "Oyagi do something stupid again?"

"YOUR NAME IS RANMA SAOTOME!!" Genma screamed when Ranko took a break from hitting him in the face.

Ranma was confused. Was Genma talking to him? "Huh?"

"I know what my name used to be, you bastard! Now where is my mom!" Ranko took a moment to scream this in his face as he hung lifelessly in her hands.

"You don't have a mother because you are just Ranma Saotome." Genma spat out a little blood onto his chest while he spoke.

"What are you talking about, oyagi?" Ranma hovered near Ranko ready to interfere if things got out of hand. He was also slightly ticked that his old man could've done something that would set Ranko off like this. He hated seeing women hurt.

Genma looked straight at Ranko. "Ranma got a curse while we were in Jusenkyuo." He paused for a moment while looks of confusion passed through everyone in the room. "You were that curse."

"What?" Ranko dropped Genma to the floor and took a few steps back until she hit Ranma. She looked at him briefly lost in shock as she stared into those same blue eyes she saw every time Ranko looked in the mirror. "How?"

Genma did his best to sit up and face Ranko and Ranma. "While we were at Jusenkyuo, I knocked Ranma into one of the cursed springs. It turned him into a girl. A GIRL!! He may not have thought of himself as a girl, but I knew it would only cause shame and dishonor for the Saotome family. When I first saw him emerge from the water in his cursed form, I was so shocked I fell off a pole and landed in the Spring of Drowned Panda.

"I had to get rid of his curse if not my own, but I didn't know how. The guide there told me of an Amazon tribe nearby who knew much about Jusenkyuo curses. So I went to them hoping they could help me. An old woman named Cologne came to me with a deal. She said she would help me, but I would only be allowed to have my son. I . . . I didn't understand what she had meant then. She took us back to the springs and threw Ranma into one of it's springs. 

"When the light faded, two people emerged from the spring. One a boy, the other a girl, but they were both Ranma. I left Ranko with Cologne rather than try to explain things. I never expected to run into you. I hoped that the years you spent growing up in the Amazons would've erased your memory of us." 

"This can't be possible." Ranko whispered as she stared into Ranma's eyes. Genma went over to the small table and picked up the teakettle that rested there. 

Akane watched as Genma returned and pressed Ranma and Ranko together as he poured the hot water over their bodies. The transformation started. Ranma and Ranko suddenly screamed in pain as they began to combine into one. 

Ranma/Ranko clutched his head as he stumbled to his knees. The pain was intense. It wasn't physical, but a sudden rush of memories that weren't his or hers, but theirs. Two sets of memories accumulated over twelve years. 

His screams stopped after a few moments as the pain eventually subsided. "What . . . What did you do that for, you damned fool." Akane was by his side, doing her best to offer him some comfort. He stood up after a minute, the pain fading out completely. "You damned bastard." His voice was steady and cold. His deep blue eyes suddenly turned hard like ice. "You don't even know the hell you put Ranko through. She was being very kind about her life with the Amazons. It's no wonder she is so powerful and so troubled. This is all your fault!" Ranma/Ranko was once again shrouded in bright blue flames with golden sparkles running up along the outside. As he spoke, he took a step closer to Genma.

"S-Son you must understand that I-"

"I don't have to understand anything." He formed a tight fist that turned his knuckles white and glowed with power from his ki as he stared at the cowering old man. "And I am not your SON!!!!!"

Genma was thrown out the door, landing hard against a tree and falling to the ground unconscious. Ranma/Ranko was ready to continue pounding the bastard, but Akane stood in his way. He was ready to move her aside but she grabbed him around the waist and pleaded with him to stop. Ranma hated to see a woman cry.

He held Akane tightly and told her he was fine. Ranma/Ranko walked into the kitchen and came back Ranma and Ranko, separated by their curse once again.

"That damn bastard." Ranko muttered as she followed Ranma back into the living room.

Akane ran up to Ranma and held him again, asking him if he was alright. He was but things had changed inside of him. The memories of Ranko growing up were still with him and would haunt him until he could come to terms with his new memories of their lives.

It was the same for Ranko. She felt like she was in the wrong body once again. An entire life that should've been hers was suddenly laid out before her, but it was still out of her reach. All she had were memories and a curse. She was a curse. She wasn't even a she, she was a he. That didn't make any sense, but Ranko understood it well. All of these memories and the ones that hurt the most were recent. Memories of her, no his, time with Akane. When they had their first kiss, fights, and when they . . . made love. Ranko had never had these things with Akane, but they were now a part of her and they crushed her. She watched as Ranma hugged Akane with all of his heart, and it hurt. The memories teased and tortured her. Ranko would never feel Akane's loving touch against her skin or kiss those lips like she now longed to do.

Ranko's lip started to tremble and tears started to fall out of her eyes. She wanted to cry right here and now. She didn't care who was watching. She didn't care what she looked like. She didn't care . . .

"Ranko." Nodoka stood in front of her, the katana left on the sofa where Nodoka had been sitting. She held her hands out, warm and inviting.

Ranko stared for a moment at the woman's arms, then her eyes, just as ready to accept and to hold her daughter. "Mom!" Ranko jumped into Nodoka's arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Nodoka cradled the girl in her arms, making soothing sounds as she swayed slightly to ease the girl's nerves. 'What do I do? She is Ranma yet her entire life has been spent as a girl, though she was born a boy. No, it doesn't matter how it started, this is my child, my daughter.' "It's alright now Ranko, mother has you now."

A small purple and pink kitten, unnoticed by anyone, watched in astonishment as this confusing family problem was revealed before her eyes. Seeing two people merge in the most painful way was definitely something you don't see everyday.

Genma slept outside that night, deciding the looks he was getting from the people inside were glares. Nodoka never looked at him, she just wiped a terry cloth over the blade of the katana she always had with her.

After the startling events of the night, everyone decided to turn in early. It had been a long time since the Misaki Shrine had had such excitement. The air seemed to drag the scent of cherry blossoms through the house in thanks, or maybe to praise a beginning. The sky was clear and the stars shined bright without the interference from the city. Ranko found herself resting on the roof once again, predictably. This was definitely a night worthy of contemplation. She watched the moon, glowing brightly down upon her as if spotlighting Ranko for a soliloquy before the stars.

Ranko wasn't really up here to think though. There was someone she was expecting any time now. With their shared memories, predicting each other would be very easy. Her red hair blew lightly in the breeze, she smelled the sweet nature, curling around her body.

Ranma walked silently to Ranko's place on the roof, watching her for a moment, perhaps thinking how their lives had suddenly changed. Or maybe he was worried about the way she felt about him. That melding process was not the way Ranko would've chosen to open up to him, but what's done is done. It's not like things were any easier for her. She had gotten over Akane a while ago and settled for a good friendship. Now she had all these memories that weren't meant for her but she couldn't deny how much she wanted them.

There was the little problem of anatomy involved in some of those memories, but they were nice none the less.

"What do we do now?" Ranma didn't sit down beside her this time.

That was fine by her, she didn't look at him. "We go on with our lives. It's all we can do."

"Damn it Ranko. I know how you feel about me. We may have started out the same person, but we've changed. These new memories are just photo albums we get to peruse to look into the others life; we are still different people."

"Until someone pours some hot water over us, ne?"

Ranma fell silent and stared up into the sky, that big moon, he could feel it too. "You think we'll ever figure it out?"

"Probably doesn't matter anymore."

Ranma reached his hand out before him, a pocket of light, subspace, opened before him and he pulled out the diary. Ranko watched only slightly surprised and more annoyed. "I can't reach the pen. I think it is specific to a girls aura."

"I figured. Could you put that back. I realize these memories of yours have kind of made its function rather moot, but there is still an emotional attachment." Waiting for Ranma to return the diary and apologize for his transgression, Ranko tossed out a question of her own. "What else have you gained from our little bonding?"

"I-I'm not sure. I know I'm stronger than I was. I also know the extent of your abilities."

"Feh." Ranko waved her hand dismissively. "Not even I know the extent of my abilities. We'll have to test yours tomorrow." She smiled slightly as she looked at his stern feature. "Teaching you has suddenly become very easy. I knew I would be a good sensei."

Ranma quirked a smile and sat down beside her. For a moment there was only silence, then Ranma reached out and held Ranko's hand. The touch wasn't simply friendly, it was also a little sensual. His grip was firm yet tender, thumb running circles over her smooth skin. The contact sent electricity sparkling through Ranko's nerves. 

"Damn you." Ranko swore softly under her breath. "You've made all of this so complicated. I can't stay here seeing you and Akane together without getting jealous. But I'm not sure who I'm more jealous of, you or her. For the two of you it's simple. Akane loves you. You love Akane, and you pity the love I have for both of you." Ranko pulled her hand away. "That doesn't leave me with a whole fucking lot."

"Your memories have affected me a lot more than you think. I do love Akane, but I'm not sure exactly how I feel about you."

"That's a bit schovinistic, don't you think?"

"Probably, but it isn't like I had a choice in the matter." Ranma found himself staring out at the lake, barely seen over the trees. "So are you going to move out then? I would understand if you wanted to, but Akane wouldn't. After tonight, we all know that you really are family. I think she would be upset if you left after this." 

"Oh don't worry, I know what she thinks. I've got one of those wonderful after-sex chats in my head now. Falling in love with me but unable to go through with it because she wanted a man. I guess she got that didn't she. Close enough, anyway."

Ranma stood up, ready to leave. "I'd like you to stay here with us. I'm sure we can figure something out." He left without saying another word. Ranko could hear Akane's voice as he swung down into their room. The lights turned off a little while later.

Their bodies held closely together, snuggled warmly beneath the sheets. Ranko had the impulse to jump into the window as Ranma just had and slip into their embrace. But she would be unwelcome. Ranko needed somewhere else to go, to be by herself, where she couldn't feel their presence.

Ranko focused the ki a moment and took off for the skies. She would fly around a while to clear her mind before she returned to the temple. Maybe she would head for the Misaki Shrine on top of the mountain. Flying, she should reach it in about ten minutes. Nothing like blowing off some steam to relieve the sexual tension.

End Chapter Five

A sliding metal door opened behind Ranko. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night. She hadn't even made it back to the temple. Something strange had happened to her last night and Ranko wasn't sure how to explain it. She had gotten a lot more than she ever thought after the merging with Ranma. 

Idly, she touched her forehead, remembering the strange . . .

"Ranko?"

Ranko looked over to the door. There weren't many people in the NERV docking bay at night except a skeleton crew in case of emergencies. Still most of them didn't bother checking on the Evas since maintenance was usually finished by the end of the day. 

Ritsuko walked in wearing a lab coat and suit dress underneath. Her blond hair was pulled back behind her ears to keep it from looking too unkempt after pulling another all nighter. The heavy bags under her eyes didn't help, however.

"Hi, Dr. Akagi." Ranko was lounging on top of the mostly submerged Eva 002, her Eva. She wasn't sure why she came back here, could be the bond that was developed between all Evas and their pilots. "Busy night?"

"Sort of. I got a call from Ranma a little while ago. He was wondering where you were. What are you doing here?"

Ranko shrugged and rested against a crest rising from the forehead of her Eva. "It's the weekend and I haven't got any classes to teach and I don't have to carry Akane to school so. . . "

"Sure," Ritsuko didn't believe the redhead at all and didn't hide it. "Did something happen between you and Ranma?"

Ranko chuckled. If only Ritsuko knew, she would be rolling on the floor in a fit of laughter. "Oh you could say that. I did find out about some interesting family ties."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. I'll tell you about it later." Ranko hopped of the Eva and landed lightly on the walkway next to Ritsuko. "Do you mind if I take out Eva 002 for a while, I just want to practice a bit."

"Can you wait till everyone else is here?"

"Yeah. I'll just go take a shower and change until then. You want to get some breakfast with me?"

"Um." Ritsuko looked at the stack of papers in her arms and considered. "Sure. Give me a minute and I'll catch up with you in the changing room."

"See you there." Ranko walked off for the showers, her red pigtail bobbing behind her.

Ritsuko looked back at the papers in her hands. They were power readings from the previous night. And like usual, they originated from Ranko and Ranma's position. The strange thing, stranger than normal anyway, was that these energy spikes were not the AT field registries they normally got. These were far different in nature. Two were weak, then a shot of an AT field, which Ritsuko guessed was when Ranko decided to go flying, and the last was very strange. The power signature was weaker than Ranko's normal display of power but it also resembled something no one had seen in a long time. Ritsuko had to find out who exactly Ranko was.

Ranko and Ritsuko walked into a nearby restaurant an hour later. Both of them feeling a little more awake and a lot cleaner. Ranko ordered herself a helping of pancakes, eggs, biscuits with gravy, and two glasses of orange juice and milk. Ritsuko had a bagel with cream cheese and coffee. 

When the food finally arrived Ranko tore through it like a vacuum, finishing everything in a few minutes. "Man I love these western breakfast places."

Ritsuko took another bite from her bagel and sipped her coffee. "You want something else?"

"No, I'm good, thanks."

"So what happened last night, huh?"

Ranko frowned, she wondered how much she should tell Ritsuko. If they learned about the transformation, Ranma and her might be forced to perform it so they could study the results. Ranko could always threaten them with violence, but that tended to cause problems in itself. "Genma told me that Ranma and I are . . . siblings."

"He is your brother?" Ranko nodded. "Didn't he tell us that in the beginning?"

"Yeah, but before we weren't sure. We just said that because that was just how we felt about each other. Now we know it's true."

"So . . . how did you become separated from your family so long ago?"

The frown deepened and Ranko didn't reply.

"That's okay, forget I asked."

"Hey Ritsuko, what's going to happen to Rei and Shinji?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what is NERV going to do with them now that Ranma and I seem to be you're A-team?"

The coffee cup was placed gently in the saucer as Ritsuko looked Ranko in the eyes. "For now, nothing. Having four pilots gives us backups in case one of you gets hurt out there or can't make it in time."

"Then you're just biding your time until you can pick up some more . . . talented pilots." Ranko stared at the table, deep in thought. "Why not get rid of them now. Ranma or myself alone can take care of the Angels. We shouldn't keep putting Rei and Shinji in harms way if we don't have to."

"That's a matter for the Commander to decide and the Angels may get tougher."

"Rei and Shinji can't handle them very well as it is, do you think they could handle tougher ones?!"

Ritsuko sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I know you are trying to protect your friends Ranko, but we are trying to protect the human race. Giving up Rei and Shinji now could be reckless."

That was that. Obviously, Commander Ikari still had high hopes for his Rei and didn't want to let her go. 

Ranko needed to find out how strong she was now. After last night, Ranma wasn't the only one to come back with some new powers. She hadn't delved into it too much because yesterdays had taxed her strength. She should probably try things out away from the city so nobody in NERV could get a good look at what was going on. It might be a good idea to take Ranma along as well, but Ranko didn't want to be alone with him right now. She thought again about the pen she kept in her pocket, pressed tightly against her thigh. 

'I won't have to worry about being hurt with this around. Too bad it has to come with that stupid sailor fuku.'

Ranko was flying low over the lake, dragging her hands over the surface of the water. It was cool and calm beneath the full moon. Her reflection shimmered as she skimmed over the black mirror surface. She arced upwards as the beach came into view and continued upwards until she was level with the summit of the mountain. The oxygen was lower up here but she wasn't exerting her self too badly yet.

The shrine was old and dilapidated. Pine boards had splintered from the seasons, lying on the ground or hanging bravely from a precarious rusty nail. Weeds and vines had begun to inhabit the building. Much of the foundation was visible after years of erosion and improper maintenance. 

Ranko decided not to chance the roof and landed delicately on the gravel path before the shrine's main doors. It was colored much the same as the temple was but it had a multitude of intricately carved ideograms on the doors and some of the columns surrounding the building. Sliding open one of the doors caused a horrible scratching sound that echoed through the interior of the building. 

It was very dark inside. The only thing more tangible than the dark was the silence. The room seemed to trap all sound and lock it away for the rest of time. Ranko held out her hand brought out a ball of ki, illuminating the shrine's interior. There were some old scrolls hanging off the walls and dusty red velvet cushion placed in a ten-foot circle surrounding what was once a fire pit. By the looks of it, the fire had been strong and steady for a long time, until something snuffed it out. Across the room stood a large cracked mirror with a golden dragon frame. The mirror was etched with the same ideograms as Ranko had seen outside the building.

Holding her breath a moment, Ranko could feel sensations and see ghosts of those who were. Some of it was sad, happy, and the last was . . . grief beyond words. Ranko could feel tears running down her cheeks. In her minds eye she saw a group of friends, fighters, girls, and all the same and all so young. She watched a few of them grow to adolescence and then others came along to experience life by her side. Most of them were too young to be in college, a few could be adults, and one, the last one, was barely in her teens. Time passed and many of these young women faded until only two remained. 

The last were fierce from years of struggle, and passionate, as was their cause. A girl wearing a Shinto priestess garb stood before her friend. Long black hair swaying in the wind, her face smudged with dirt, she was ready to give her life for the one behind her. Flames erupted around her body and focused into her hands. She lashed out numerous times, striking down a number of unseen foes until her strength slowly ebbed from her body and she was slain. The lightning strike scorched through her chest, smoke rising from the burnt material. Her hand rose one final time to apologize to her comrade for not being stronger.

She was blonde, her hair put in long ponytails that collected in buns on the top of her head. She was younger than the first but her face was not as fierce, not as edged from struggle, but her eyes showed the truth. She wore a long white dress, covering her arms and legs conservatively and giving her the air of royalty. Her face was set in a gentle smile as she held the dying warrior in her arms, shedding a single tear upon her passing. 

The childish manner passed as did her friend. The blond stood up, protectively over the body of the priestess. Her arms flung wide, she screamed into the void, screaming for the deaths of her love, her friends, her family, and for the price that her enemy would pay for causing so much pain.

A white light enveloped her body, rising like a flame into the night and reaching a peak somewhere amongst the stars. She knew this would be her final act, the retribution her friends deserved, the last moment these foul demons would know of life after soiling the planet with their filth. The light became blinding, and for a moment, nothing could be seen beyond the light. It streaked across the shrine's interior, abolishing all the shadows attempting to hide within every corner and crack, tearing away the darkness that inhabited it now.

The light faded and Ranko could see once again. She had never taken her eyes off the ghosts who she felt to be kindred spirits. All were gone, the fighter, the lovers, and the friends, none had survived to tell a tale of woe and loss. No, all would now be spoken of as heroes and martyrs to the human race. Ranko weeped at their passing though it had happened so long ago. Her heart grieved and she lost all control of her legs and collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

"It was tragic to say the least. Never in human history have a group of people showed so much honor and loyalty to one another. The heavens fell silent in honor for the loss of the world's greatest champions." The mirror began to glow a radiant white before a tall woman walked through it. She had long brown hair that reached her lower back and wore a dress made of fine red and white silk that flapped lightly in the little wind running through the building. Her face was kind and caring as she took in the sobbing form of Ranko. She was a beautiful woman to behold, slender figure and sweet face, but her beauty went beyond skin. Her very presence seemed to exude a warm embrace over those who saw her. 

"My name is Bellandy, Goddess of Heaven. It is a pleasure to meet you Ranko." The Goddess bowed silently as Ranko struggled to her feet and returned the curtousy. "I'm sorry it's not your friends who are here to greet you. They died valiantly saving the world almost eighteen years ago. But I'm sure they would be proud to pass on the torch to you, Sailor Sun."

Ranko paused every question that was running through her head as she heard the title the Goddess had given her. Sailor Sun? She rolled it around in her mind and could find no fault with it. There were no memories she could attach to the title, only feelings of pride and honor and right behind them, sadness. "I can not be unless my comrades have fallen."

Bellandy nodded at the statement. "You were the force which created the powers held by the fallen warriors. As long as they required some of your strength, you would remain asleep and give it to them. Now they are gone, Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Pluto, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the Prince of Earth; all have passed. The Universe needs a Champion once again, Ranko, and so you were woken."

"Are you here to help me?"

"No." Bellandy hung her head slightly and breathed a sigh of regret. "It is forbidden for Heaven to intervene in such a manner. We may be eternal, but we are not omnipotent. I am not your guide, only a Goddess bearing a warning and a hope." Ranko didn't know how to respond so remained respectfully silent. "There will come a time in your life, when things look their darkest, and light loses its luster, you will be tested against an enemy who will seem invincible, but your courage and your love will help carry you to salvation."

Ranko sighed. Why did things like this keep happening to her? Hadn't she lived through enough abuse? She would have screamed and run from this destiny, but the Goddess soothed her fears and sedated her rage. She took her destiny in stride. "Keep your chin up even when you think things can't get any worse. Is that it?"

"No." Bellandy said gently. "There is more." The Goddess flowed across the ground, her feet a few inches from touching. "As mother and provider to the previous, you are to be given the memories of those who loved you before you were to be." Bellandy placed both of her hands softly against Ranko's forehead. There was no flash of light or painful entrance of visions she had with Ranma, there was only a sensation of wind caressing her body as her mind filled with sweet visions of the warriors she had seen before. When it was over, Ranko wept a few tears upon seeing them dying again. 

Bellandy crossed back over to the mirror on the opposite side of the fire pit. "Sailor Mars was hoping her spirit could welcome you to life, but the eternal flame she resided in," indicating the ashes between them, "was extinguished long ago. Her spirit is now with the others in Heaven. Know this Ranko, they will watch and pray for your success. Farewell to you, Sailor Sun, Guardian of Creation." The Goddess stepped back into the mirror, glowing briefly as she passed through it.

The shrine became silent and dark once again without the Divine Light that had emanated from Bellandy. Ranko took one more look around the shrine, staring for a while at the once eternal flame. She wondered who had stayed behind for so long in hopes of meeting her? Rei, Sailor Mars, had been the Shinto priestess of the Misaki Shrine, she was most likely the only one capable of residing within the flame. Ranko decided that the shrine was in need of a facelift. It was the best way, she could think of, to honor the other Sailor Scouts.

Outside of the shrine, she reached into the air ahead of her and removed the pen from a golden pocket of subspace. Her hand held it firmly, feeling each contour, memorizing every line before she raised it high over her head and shouted. "Sun Power, MAKE UP!"

Ranko's body lifted into the air without the use of her ki. Golden flames arced across her body, which was removed of all her clothing only to be replaced with a sailor fuku like the ones her comrades had worn. It had a white bodice with a golden bow covering her breasts and short red skirt with a similar bow at her lower back. The knee-high boots were also red with a golden line running along its edges. The only difference between her fuku and the others were a few pieces of armor, shining like the golden rays of the sun, covering her shoulders and forearms and lacing itself around her boots in intricate patterns resembling the Fire Phoenix.

When Ranko finally landed, her hand reached out once again to find a scepter she knew instinctively would be there, waiting for its wielder. She could see it was her scepter and her weapon, capable of terrible destruction and creation all on its own. In her mind she saw Pluto's Scepter of Time and Saturn's Scepter of Destruction, the Moon Princess's Wand and Silver Crystal, and other objects of power, each melting and molding into the scepter she now held in her hand. It was over five feet tall, a solid cylinder formed its base for the first foot until a golden braid took shape and formed the middle of the scepter. The head was the Fire Phoenix resting, yet ready for action, as it perched atop a flame, coiling a foot down from the top. The eyes were silver, revealing a part of the Silver Crystal. The remainder of the powerful crystal was found within the core of a four-foot sword, sheathed within the scepter. Carved into the magical blade were the symbols of each planet in their order from the sun, the moon's laid out upon the hand guard.

Ranko sheathed the sword into the scepter and placed it back within the golden subspace. She stared out upon the lake and the city beyond, touching the tiara circling her forehead, knowing it to be a simple golden circlet holding a transparent gem that contained a small burning flame. 

The power running through her body, healing old wounds and wiping away scars, felt wonderful and soothing. Whatever her strength had been before, Ranko felt a hundred times stronger now. She stared into the sky, into the bright moon that smiled down upon her. The tears she had shed for her friends were gone as she felt them looking down upon her. They were now safe from harm and pain this world offered. True flames rose around her body and lifted her into the sky, then space, beyond the planets and satellites revolving around them, until she stood before her sun. The solar flares licking her skin, but not burning. She smiled warmly as vision of the other Sailors waving to her came to mind. Slowly and purposefully, Ranko floated into the sun and rested within its warmth and protection.

She stayed like that for a few hours just remembering a life long ago and far away, when nine young women and their prince lived and loved with every moment of their lives.

Ranko returned to the docking bay where her Eva stood patiently, waiting for its next mission. She had given up her Chinese outfit for the form-fitting plug suit. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it did make Ranko a little self-conscious the way it displayed her 32 C size chest and the bit of material which creeped up her ass. 

'How does Rei wear these things all day? I feel like I'm naked in front of all these guys.'

Behind her, many of the technicians and scientists were going about their normal routine, made just a bit easier by the sight of Ranko in her plug suit. A few had been bold enough to try and ask her out for dinner sometime. Ranko had been polite but rejected each proposal in their turn. Some of the guys were nice enough but she didn't want to press her luck with relationships any farther. No, third time was the charm, so somewhere is the perfect match for her, but if he came to her today, Ranko doubted he could even make to first base. The way relationships had been going for her, she was somewhat surprised at her control to not flatten every man that came up to her.

Eva 002 was staring at her also, but Ranko was staring at her so it only seemed fair. When she returned to NERV last night, Ranko had had a long conversation with Eva 002. Neither of them used words, but emotions and images that rested on the edge of their minds.

Much of it had been very basic. Ranko dropped into the docking bay in her normal form when Eva 002 expressed surprise at her presence. Ranko hadn't known where the thought came from, but then she heard another. She blushed a little when Eva 002 thought she looked pretty. Ranko had looked into the Eva's eyes then and communicated her thanks. There was shock and elation for the Eva to discover someone could actually communicate with her. Eva 002 started sharing images and feelings with Ranko as quickly as it could, before anything could happen. Ranko had felt dizzy and calmed the Eva down quickly, telling her that she would not go anywhere and they could talk with each other every day.

Sitting on the railing in front of Eva 002, Ranko was talking to her once again. They were both waiting for the other pilots, each eager to go outside and play. Ranko decided to share some of the things that had happened to her last night with the Eva. In her mind, she formed a picture of Ranma and herself, merging into one. The Eva asked if it had hurt and if she was sad to be separated from her male body. Ranko giggled at the later but answered, yes it hurt a little and she wasn't sad to be separated once again. It had taken a while for Ranko to sort out her thoughts and regain her identity. Ranma's memories no longer forced themselves into her psyche, but played in the background when she tried to recall something. It was hard sometimes to tell whose memories were whose. 

The memories she got from the Sailor Scouts were different. They didn't play with her mind or try to change her mind, but were selectively opened. Ranko had to think hard about each person and ask specific questions to get any memories to open up. She had learned quite a bit about the Sailor Scouts, their powers, homes, friends, and the lives they led before becoming Scouts. But none of them had really known about her or where she came from. Sailor Sun's own history was a complete mystery. She had had a life before she was Ranko, when she created the other Scouts, a long time ago. 

An image of Ranko in her sailor fuku crossed her mind. Ranko hadn't realized she had been giving off a strong enough emotion to get the Eva's attention. She answered the question with a small scene of her transformation and the feeling of great power.

Would they become more powerful if Ranko transformed in her entry plug?

It was a good question, but she wasn't ready to try out her powers with the Eva. Bad things could happen if she doesn't know what she's doing.

"Hey Ranko?"

Ranko left her conversation with the Eva behind as Ranma walked up behind her. "Ranma."

"I . . . I just want to apologize for last night. Things got jumbled up in my head and it took me a while to straighten it out. I hope you're not upset with me about, you know."

Ranko sighed and looked into the water the Eva was standing in. "Where is Akane?"

"Oh, Misato is showing Akane and our folks around some of NERV's facilities. She'll probably be waiting for me in the lobby when we're done here."

Ranko didn't say anything. She heard Ranma shuffle on his feet a little, not certain of what to make of her silence. He finally rested up against the railing facing the opposite direction.

"Where did you go last night?"

"What do you care?"

Ranma was ready to spit out some insult, but bit his tongue and went on as casually as he could. "I care. With all the weird stuff that happened yesterday, I'm sure you're not the better for it." Silence. Ranma sighed and was ready to leave Ranko alone. "I love you, Ranko, so don't think you're going to abandon us cause I'll just come after you." 

"Ranma." Ranko called out as she heard him take a few steps away from her. She twisted her body onto the walkway and stood before Ranma. Her hands unsure, meeting his halfway. The electricity tingled her system once again and she stared into his deep blue eyes. The moment was too perfect, too peaceful, she couldn't lose it because they had doubts. This was something she wanted desperately and she took it. 

Ranko's hands clasped behind Ranma's head and pulled him down for a deep passionate kiss. His touch was electricity, but his kiss was fire and it warmed her entire body, her mind growing dizzy but it was too good to let go. Their tongues reached out to stroke the other causing Ranko to lose the feeling in her legs, but it was alright, Ranma was there to catch her and hold onto her tight. Pressed against his body she felt his muscles move and . . .

The Eva asked her about the images playing in her mind. They were not really happening and they were not memories, what were they?

Ranko looked up from the water and felt the cold railing she was balancing upon. She sighed and looked up into what passed as the Eva's eye. What were those images? Dreams.

The teams were divided up once again as boys versus girls. There was something sexist about this, but then the girls won last time. Rei and Ranko started off in their usual pattern. Ranko was faster so she took a flanking position along the mountain range while Rei started down the center. 

Ranko was moving with more purpose in her step this time. There was some frustration to be dealt with and the best way to do that was fight Ranma. He may have tried to apologize for last night, but there was still some bad blood. Ranko couldn't help but feel a little violated. Her emotions were toyed with and her memories were stolen. Ranma came out of the experience ahead of her. He had her emotions to pity and the skills she had learned over the years to play with. All of this made Ranma stronger than her and she felt cheated. It was time to prove to him that she could still take him any day of the week.

"Rei, stay at my three, Shinji will likely be behind Ranma so watch my back. I'm going after Ranma. Leave him to me this time."

"Roger that. You aren't going to hurt him are you?"

"Nah. I just need to test his skills is all." Ranko kept the banter light so the people in ops wouldn't shut down the exercise. She told the truth. Ranko wouldn't hurt Ranma, much.

Ranma had no idea what Ranko was thinking. If he did he would've made his presence known the minute they started the fight. Ranko would've taken flight, but she didn't want to make herself an easy target for Ranma. She wanted a fight.

"Ranko, I've got visual at one o'clock, five miles out."

"How many?"

"I've got Ranma coming straight for us."

'Maybe he does know what I'm thinking.' "Roger that. Moving to engage. Shinji shouldn't be far behind."

Ranko moved into the valley, squaring off with Ranma, while Rei headed out of the way. Ranma hadn't stopped running and looked like he was going to piledrive right through her. Well if he was going to go head on with her, then she wouldn't hold back as much as she used to. A blue ki ball grew in the Eva's hands, ready to launch.

The ki ball was headed straight for Ranma, but he hadn't backed down yet. 'Has he completely lost it?' Ranko was suddenly unsure about fighting Ranma. There was obviously something wrong, this wasn't normal.

"Ranko." The ki blast impacted the side of Eva 003 on the head. There was no damage to the unit which kept running straight for Ranko. It was too close and grabbed unit 002 by the neck and threw her straight to the ground.

'What the hell is going on? Ranma shouldn't have that much power even after our melding.' Her head hurt a bit after impact but she swung her legs over the Eva's body, sidestepping out of range of the next attack. The com unit flashed on beside Ranko, it was Ranma's voice. 

"Ranko!"

"Ranma! What the hell are you doing?!"

"It's not me in there! It's Akane, she gone berserk!"

'What?!' Ranko ducked under a volley of punches and kicks Akane had sent her way. She could see it now, the aura, and a red and fiery backdrop to the mechanical beast she was facing.

Ranko staggered backwards keeping her hands up to defend herself. "Akane! Calm down, Akane! It's me Ranko. You don't want to hurt me do you?!" The unit seemed to hold back for a moment but quickly pulled its arms back for a ki blast. The red ball struck Ranko in the chest, her feet scratching along the ground as she attempted to stay upright under the force of the blast. She looked up to see herself half a mile from where she started, her chest sore from the assault. 

Ranko tried to shout at Akane to stop but was instantly put on the defensive as she blocked a number of kicks, strikes, and sweeps. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rei and Shinji moving in with the rifles claimed from their bases. They took aim on Akane, aiming for the head.

"NO!!!" Ranko charged Akane, grappling her around the waist and knocking her into a mountain to protect her from the rifle shots. "Rei! Shinji! Back off! I'll take care of this!" The rifle aims went down, but the kept a vigil over the fight from their elevated position.

Eva 003 turned to face Ranko, hovering over her. "Ranko." The voice was definitely Akane, but it was scratchy and strained, like she was saying her name after being hit in the gut a dozen times. Two arms shot out of the mountainside, impacting Eva 002 in the stomach and sending it off into the sky.

Ranko doubled over from the pain and landed hard on the valley floor. Twisting her body to the side slightly, she backflipped into a fighting stance. "Akane! It's me. It's Ranko. I'm your friend Akane. You don't want to hurt your friend, do you Akane?!" 

Akane shot off a dozen smaller ki blasts, kicking up dust around Ranko, blinding her. The punches came suddenly out of the blanket of dirt, each aimed for vital areas of Ranko's body. Evading the hits would have been easy if Ranko still had her speed advantage over Akane, but the Eva's limits just couldn't tolerate Ranko's full speed.

Eva 002 was knocked out of the dust storm to land heavily in the side of a mountain causing a large impact crater. She hung there limply for a few moments. For Rei and Shinji, it was a few moments too long. They opened fire on Eva 003, hoping to take it down before anyone got seriously injured.

Akane heard the rifle's discharge and swung her body around on one foot, pivoting out of the fray and lacing one hand with a red ball of ki. The resulting blast knocked Rei and Shinji off the mountain and falling for the ground thousands of feet below. 

Another blast sounded from Ranko's position as she used the force behind one of her own ki blasts to propel herself at her falling friends. Akane fired blast after blast at the white blur heading for the falling Evas. Ranko leaped and parried around the ki balls nimbly but they were slowing her pace down too much. She had to work up more speed to catch Rei and Shinji in time. Blue ki was concentrated at her feet to make each step bounce a little more until she released it all at once, sending the Eva into greater speed. 

Rei and Shinji soon found themselves in Ranko's arms, safely on the ground, miles from where they started.

Ranko swiveled her head around to take in Akane's position. Eva 003 was waiting in the valley where she left her. Grabbing the rifles out of the other Eva's hands, Ranko ripped the triggers from their positions. She handed the rifles back to the surprised Evas and looked back at the Eva below her.

"Akane. Why are you fighting me? What have I done to you? Can you calm down so we can talk about this?" Ranko was almost pleading with the berserk girl. If she couldn't get through to her, Ranko would have to take her out. 'Yeah, easier said than done.' "Ranma, talk to her."

The com channel was on all frequencies so everyone could hear him. "Akane. It's Ranma. Uhm, you've got to stop fighting with Ranko, you might hurt her."

Fiery balls of ki took shape in Akane's hands. "Try harder Ranma." Ranko urged.

"Uhm, Akane, I don't want you to fight. Uhm, I . . I love you, Akane and I don't want you to get hurt." The ki balls dissipated.

Akane stood impatiently, looking up into the sky. "Love? Ranma love Ak . . . RANKO!!!!"

"NO, AKA-" Whatever final plea Ranma was about to make was cut off under the sound of explosions resulting from large red ki blasts impacting the side of the mountain in Ranko's Commander area.

Ranko had barely gotten the ki shield up in time to defend herself and the other Evas behind her. She saw Akane come rushing through the dust straight for her. Ranko had to protect Rei and Shinji, this was way out of their league. She took off like a rocket into the sky to continue the combat in the air. Akane had to be running out of ki soon, maybe she could tire the other girl out by making her waste the energy on flight.

Akane followed Ranko into the sky and hovered in the air before her when Ranko turned around after gaining a good distance from the others. Ranko tried to soothe Akane's violent temper, but her cries fell on deaf ears. Two ki blasts preceded Akane's double front kick that connected with Ranko's head. She followed up with a mid section punch capable of knocking Ranko through mountains, which it did.

'Ow. She hits like her hands are made of lead weights.' Ranko pulled herself out of the crumbled mountain. Looking up, she saw Akane watching her. Ranko had time, she would use it to power up a little more and try to knock Akane out of commission. "AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Blue flames surrounded Eva 002, blasting dirt and rock away from where she stood. The impact crater, wrought by the force of her aura, extended for a dozen meters in all directions. Ranko focused on pooling the energy into her limbs to make every hit that much stronger.

Akane watched impassively as Ranko rose into the air before her. Their two auras conflicted with the other, causing massive winds and sparks of electricity to shoot between the combatants. Akane had lost her mind to the anger somehow, but it didn't matter now. Ranko had to take her down because all Akane wanted was her blood and she wouldn't stop until she had gotten it.

Ranko switched to a private channel to talk directly with Akane. "Well cutie? You just gonna stand there looking pretty? Or are you ready for another lesson from your sensei?"

"Holy HELL! Their sync ratings are in the three hundred level. The power output each of them is giving off could take out an entire city with one hit!" Misato was holding herself over one of magi's sensor readout monitors. Ranma stood at her side watching the battle unfold on the large screens. His head was wrapped in bandages after being knocked over the head by a powerful mallet-wielding fiancée.

"Magi can't give me a good reading on Akane's condition. Her heart rate is good but her neural connections are all over the place. Adrenaline levels are high and still rising, I think she's getting stronger as we speak." Ritsuko looked over at Ranma, fear showing in her eyes. "How much stronger is she going to get, Ranma?"

Ranma blinked at the big screens as he saw Akane push her aura harder to get pure anger take her over. The aura he saw was already bright red, but there were still tinges of white. White? Love? It was jealousy. Something a person in love with a violent temper could easily fall into. This was not looking good at all. "A lot."

Ritsuko sucked in a lung full of air, almost hyperventilating. She tapped furiously on a remote system, trying for the umpteenth time to shut down Eva 003. 'Stronger? Shit, one of her blasts could flatten a few city blocks and she was getting stronger? Shit!'

From Ranko's memories, Ranma could see the dangerous potential Akane had been riding for a long time. A berserk wouldn't just blow up a city or two. If there was no stopping them, a berserker could blow up a small nation like Japan. 'Damn it! Damn it! Damn me! I shouldn't have talked about the transformation with Akane. I should have known she would get jealous of Ranko.'

Ranma knew what Ranko had to do as well as she did. He silently prayed she could find a way of saving Akane. It was all his fault. 'Come back to me, Akane.'

Akane screamed and rushed in to meet Ranko head on. Hands and legs flurried, trying to get the upper hand, Akane and Ranko tried to take the other out with one hit. She swung her back foot into a ki charged hook kick, missing its target when Ranko sank in the air and came back at her from below.

Ranko forced her way past Akane's defenses and opened up on her with three solid hits to the groin, stomach and chin as she passed by with a full uppercut. Akane staggered backwards and started to tilt backwards, but the ki balls proved she was not out for the count. Ranko arced her body over the volley of blasts and brought her knee down onto Akane's collarbone. There was no painful crunch like she had been expecting. Instead Akane had brought her hands up and was holding the knee with her left hand.

Akane pulled the leg down and punched upwards into Ranko's gut, firing off a blast when her arm was fully extended. Eva 002 flew through the air, a steam trail following her.

Ranko pulled herself together in time to prevent another collision with a mountain. Aiming herself back at Akane, she concentrated the ki into her right hand.

"MOUKO TAKABISHA!"

The blue ball was twenty feet in diameter and skipped across the sky like a shooting star, aimed straight for Eva 003. The blast surrounded Akane's form and hid it within a cloud of smoke. 'Damn. I guess that's tha-WHAT THE HELL?!!' Ranko could feel Akane's aura grow stronger as the aftereffects of the blast wore off. Eva 003 lurched forward from the black smoke, bringing a large ki ball with it.

Akane lifted herself into the sky so she was directly in front of the sun, before releasing her own Mouko Takabisha at the blinded Ranko. A smile formed on her lips as she watched the blast approach Ranko, towering over her like the hammer of God. Her victory was short lived though, as Ranko stretched out her aura into a sharp spike, penetrating Akane's ki blast with little resistance. 

The element of surprise, Ranko had to use it whenever she got the chance if she wanted to get the drop on Akane and knock her out. The truth was Akane was not yet at her level, but the power they were flinging around could not be used to simply knock someone out. That would only happen with hands and feet. To get that close she needed to surprise her opponent. Her hands flared with ki she would be using to break through the Eva's chest protector and grab the entry plug Akane was controlling it from. She met plenty of resistance as Akane kicked at Ranko's head and attempted to block her hand. This was taking too long. "KACHUU TENCHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

Ranko's hands flew at impossible speeds with the help of her ki. She hit Eva 003 sixty-two times in the head and one hundred and thirteen times in the chest. Akane was knocked backwards by the force of the blows, her arms and legs losing their defensive position as she began to crash down to the earth. Ranko pressed harder as she felt Akane press ki into slowing her descent. 

Ranko was coming straight for Akane with her right arm pulled back. Eva 003 brought its arms over its chest to protect the broken ribs. The punch landed right on Akane's left arm, snapping it and throwing her even faster to the ground. Akane tried once again to slow her descent, but then got an evil smile again. She grabbed Ranko's hand and twisted until she was riding on top of Eva 002. The force of the impact should crush everything in the red and white Evangelion.

Ranko was glad when she felt Akane twist the Eva's body over her own. The fall would definitely kill her, but Akane wouldn't get the chance. With Akane's attention focused on keeping Eva 002 beneath her, Ranko used her captured hand to pull Akane closer. Her other hand reached up behind the Eva's head to where the entry plug should be. There was a long flat piece covering the loading area, Ranko lifted it and took a hold of a long cylinder and pulled.

Sparks flew and a horrible screeching sound resulted from metal giving and tearing away from the skeletal structure. Eva 003 fell lax into Ranko's hold. Only a few hundred feet left before impact, Ranko put the limp form of the Evangelion over her shoulder and held the entry plug as carefully as she could. A few seconds later she hit the ground, hard. Her body strained to keep the Eva's legs beneath her from snapping under the pressure. An impact crater no less than twenty feel deep and thirty feet wide was the result of Ranko's efforts to save two lives.

Once she was sure they were no longer in danger, Ranko allowed the Eva to collapse onto the ground, exhausted from its efforts. The entry plug rolled out of its hand and came to a stop against Eva 002's thigh. The Eva may have been exhausted, but Ranko wasn't done yet. She pulled the emergency blow out lever next to her seat and jumped out of the entry plug in a full sprint for Akane.

She found the other entry plug resting, hatch side up. Ranko tried to feel for Akane's aura, she didn't have to wait long. The hatch blew off its hinges as a red blast forced its way out. Akane pulled herself out of the cylinder, her aura smaller than it was when she first started attacking Ranko.

"Ranko."

Akane wasn't to be given a chance to fire off her ki blasts. As soon as the entry hatch was clear, Ranko sprinted for the form that would follow. Her arms grasped Akane around the arms and held her in a bear hug as she pressed her body against the berserker. Ranko's head rested on Akane's shoulder, her lips close to the bigger girl's ear. Around the tears she had for her poor friend, Ranko whispered. "Akane . . . I'm so sorry. I love you."

Akane pulled her hands up and focused the red ki into two balls in either palm. Ranko's hug grew tighter as she huddled into Akane's form, waiting for the attack to her defenseless back. Akane felt the girl shiver and hold her tightly. The words slowly seeped into her mind and somehow they reached the small rational part of her conscious. The ki fell apart in the wind as Akane let it go, her arms wrapping around Ranko's waist affectionately.

Her voice returned to her. It was cracked and deep like it had been. This was her voice, a sweet and caring tone that Ranko knew her by. "Ranko . . . I-I love you too." Akane pulled the small redhead into her arms and rested her head in the crook of Ranko's neck.

Ranko pulled back her head a little to make sure her friend was back to normal. Akane looked deep into her eyes. The red was gone, Ranko noted, as she stared back into deep brown eyes that held her gaze. A gentle smile grew on Akane's lips as Ranko's tears dried up in her eyes. She smiled back.

The smaller girl's body felt good in Akane's arms. She suddenly got the impulse to share the pleasant feelings with the redhead as much as she could in that moment. Akane continued to stare into Ranko's big blue eyes as she brought her head down closer to the small girl. Her lips brushed lightly against Ranko's and she looked one more time before pressing herself in to a deep passionate kiss that sent electricity down her body and fire into the pit of her stomach. 

The girls remained in that position for a few minutes before the need for air forced them apart. Ranko rested her head back onto Akane's shoulder. "Heh. Why Akane, do you treat all your saviors this way? What will Ranma think?"

Akane shrugged and closed her eyes as she felt Ranko pressed against her body. "He'll just have to share."

Ranko smirked and kissed the taller girl on the cheek as she settled into their embrace.

Back in ops, Ranma was watching the big screens, which were trained on the two girls holding each other closely. He suddenly felt dizzy and light-headed as he watched them kiss for a couple of minutes before they returned to just holding each other. The words they spoke couldn't be clearer with their proximity to the Eva.

After the months of friendship, Ranko helping Akane and Ranma fall in love, Ranko leaving them to save the world, Ranma's draft into NERV, the merging Ranko and Ranma had undergone, not to mention the painful realization of the danger in Akane's powers, and the excitement of moving to Tokyo-3, Ranma couldn't think of anything to say so he stole a choice line he'd heard one of the Tendo sisters use.

"Oh my."

"Hey are you guys alright?" Shinji and Rei were scrambling down the side of the mountain still in their Evas. They towered over Ranko and Akane by a couple hundred feet. The rifles each held were still broken, but they had to return them to NERV for repairs anyway.

Akane and Ranko let go of each other once they realized they were being watched. Ranko looked over the fallen Evas around her and sighed. There was going to be hell to pay when they got back. 'Maybe the Commander will be happy I was able to save both units rather than destroy one.' Not likely.

"You guys want to give us an escort back to base? I think there are people there that would like to talk with us." Ranko said.

Rei knelt down next to Akane to let the girl climb into her hand. Shinji was about to do the same for Ranko but she shook her head and headed back over to Eva 002. Her hand rested on its head plate and she scanned the Eva's mind for a moment. Satisfied, Ranko gave the Eva a few words of comfort before taking to the sky, gliding alongside units 000 and 001. 

"What were you doing with Eva 002?" Shinji asked. Rei was interested also but was waiting to ask her later. Akane had gotten used to Ranko being able to do strange things that she overlooked the event.

"Nothing. I was just making sure she was alright."

"Oh." Shinji thought about this. 'Making sure she was alright? Do the Evas feel?' "You can communicate with the Evas?"

They were coming up to one of the bases on the exercise area. Ranko noted a large assembly of people, most of whom were security, carrying rifles. "I'll tell you later. Akane, stay close to me. It looks like someone is upset with us."

"What?" Akane sat up in the palm of Rei's Eva and followed Ranko's gaze to the base ahead of them. She gulped; there had to be at least twenty armed guards down there. 'I'm in deep shit and I'm not even sure how this happened.'

"Rei, Shinji, there is no need to involve either of you in this. Why don't you go help the recovery teams take care of the other Evas." Ranko settled down on the ground before the guards as Rei lowered herself enough for Akane to jump. Shinji seemed unsure if he should leave the girls to his father. Commander Ikari may very well try to exact some **compensation **for the damages done to the Evas. "Go on Shinji." Ranko gave him one of her cocky smiles. "We can take care of ourselves."

Shinji nodded and followed Rei back out to the fallen Evas. Ranko sucked in a deep breath and readied herself to face off with a score of armed guards. Akane looked apprehensively at the rifles aimed at her. If it weren't for Ranko standing in front of her, she had little doubt they would have shot her on sight.

Commander Ikari stepped out of the crowd and looked sternly at Akane. "Ranko, step aside. Tendo Akane is charge with treason and is to be executed." Akane paled as she heard the sentence, her hands groped blindly for Ranko's arm.

Ranko didn't let the surprise show on her face. To tell the truth, she had been expecting this but she was not out of the fight yet. "Now, now Commander. I did tell you that Akane was too dangerous to be used in the Evas. You should have listened to me. It's your own fault that things turned out the way they did. Call off your guards or I'll do it for you." She punctuated her demand by forming a ki ball in her free hand and aimed it at the closest of the guards. Nothing was going to harm Akane while she was around.

"Therein lies the problem, Ranko. I did not give Akane access to the Evas. She stole it. I thought you would be happy to hand her over. She did try to kill you." Gendou poised his glasses higher up on his nose as he glared at the girl behind Ranko. "She has committed treason by jeopardizing the safety of this planet."

"No way!" Ranma flipped over the rows of guards and settled himself between Akane and the guards, beside Ranko. "Akane would never try something like that. Someone forced her into the Eva."

"Oh really? According to the security cameras Akane knocked you out of the way to get into the entry plug." Gendou looked over Ranma carefully. "That's a nice shiner you got there. Akane give that to you?"

Ranko noticed Ranma wince at the Commander's observation. She could see the purple bruise around his right eye. The day's events started flashing through Ranko's head as she tried to come up with a reason for Akane's actions. 'Akane came to NERV to show our families around. Ranma said she would wait for us until we were done for the afternoon. What was she doing with her free time?' "You didn't get around to those tests you wanted to perform on Akane today, did you?"

"Not that I am aware of. Captain Katsuragi was taking care of it. But we are not going to delay Akane's sentencing for some tests, she may attempt to do something like this again." Ranko could see Commander Gendou was completely serious, he didn't have Akane put through the tests yet. If she had done the sync test or anything else that required Akane to use her aura that would explain things, but if it . . . 'Did he say Captain Katsuragi?!' 

Ranko scanned the crowd for the childish brunette. Misato stood in the shadows behind Gendou. Her eyes were wide with terror as she watched the confrontation, teeth attacking her nails. There was a man standing next to her. Ranko almost missed him; he was the same man Ranko had fought with when she had arrived at the NERV dojo pissed. Kaji was very calm, his left hand resting on Misato's shoulder. His eyes are what Ranko locked on though. After living with Nabiki for a few weeks, Ranko understood the best way to tell what a person was thinking was to watch their eyes. Kaji's eyes showed disappointment like his science fair project had erupted early.

Ranma was getting pissed very quickly. 'I don't care what Akane might've done. I'm sure this was someone else's fault. Akane isn't like this even when she is really upset. Something must've happened to her.' "No one is touching my FIANCEE!!" A blue flame erupted around Ranma, sparkling with golden electricity. He set himself into a fighting stance and waited for anyone to test his resolve. 

Ranko was about ready to follow suit but she kept her head and spoke out again. "Well Misato? How about it? I think there's something you want to tell us, isn't there?!" She may not have blown up like Ranma, but a definite edge had found its way into her voice. 

Some of the guards were backing away from the powerful trio. The guards closest to Ranko's ki laden hand were locked in position, stricken in terror as they watched the ki fluctuate in her hand. Gendou roared out at them in his most commanding voice. "Stand your ground, men, but don't shoot Ranma or Ranko."

Misato rushed to one of the guards and tried to place her hand over the barrel to lower his aim. Unfortunately, Misato chose to stop a guard who had been getting very twitchy as he stood before the three teenagers.

The rifle went off in his hands.

Everything seemed to suddenly stop. All at once, the guards fired but the bullets moved very slowly. Commander Ikari yelled for his men to cease-fire. Misato turned her head away, covering her eyes from what she knew would happen. Ranma could only stand in the middle of everything; he was not their target and he watched in fear as bullets whistled past him towards Ranko and Akane. Akane closed her eyes and tensed her body, awaiting the inevitable. She closed her arms around Ranko's waist in a final goodbye.

No one else noticed because it wasn't really happening. Time stopped for no one except Ranko. Only she saw the first bullet heading straight for her head. Only she saw the bullets behind it attacking them from all sides. Only Ranko could take note of everyone's reactions. Only Ranko. That was all she needed to see.

Ranko's hand lashed out at the first bullet, swatting it away with a ki protected slap. Before any of the others could cut her and Akane down, her other arm lashed out, both pointing up to the sky. She screamed. For an entire foot around her, intense orange flames as hot as the sun surrounded Ranko's body. The bullets impacted with the barrier, but went no further. 

Time reasserted itself as everyone witnessed the bullets on a direct course for Ranko and Akane suddenly stop in midair. The flames danced around the girls, smothering the incoming bullets with small infernos, melting the projectiles to such a basic level they finally disintegrated into the flames.

Ranko wasn't done yet. The flames circled faster and faster until they looked like a solid ring of gold; Ranko cried out then. The flames erupted into the shape of a large Fire Phoenix, whipping its wings open and forcing everyone around Ranko to fall over under its power. The Fire Pheonix shot off into the sky with a screech before dissolving in the wind.

Ranma could only smile his appreciation for Ranko's amazing skills. 'That move isn't in her memories. I wonder where she got it from?' He set aside the thought for later. Right now, there were some guards holding onto some very dangerous toys. With the skill he had gained from the merging, Ranma vanished from sight, reappearing a moment later, the rifles crumbling in his hands.

He hadn't really disappeared but only Ranko could say that for certain and she wasn't talking. Ranma enjoyed the way the guards suddenly lost bladder control.

Commander Gendou nodded when he saw everyone was unharmed. His attention turned to the sobbing Misato, her hands still covering her eyes from witnessing the carnage. "Well, Captain. I think you and I need to have a little talk. Ranko, you might want to come along and hear this."

Ranko nodded. She and the Commander may fight some of the time, but he was nobody's fool. It was his only redeeming value.

Misato was escorted to one of the interviewing rooms by a couple of guards. Ranma and Akane watched them all go, holding tightly onto each other. No one interrupted them, not if they wanted to walk away under their own power.

"Ranma, I think I'm going to need some help controlling my temper."

"I don't know. Life might get boring without your violent tendencies." Ranma laughed lightly at his joke.

Akane rolled her eyes and hit him playfully on the chest. "Baka."

"Do you suppose something is wrong, Saotome-san?" Mr. Tendo looked up from their game of Go they had been playing in the NERV lobby area. Sirens were still blaring and lights were flashing all around them, but nothing took their eyes away from the game.

"No. I'm sure it's nothing, Tendo-san."

Soun nodded his agreement and moved his next piece.

Nabiki, Kasumi, and Nodoka frowned at the men's foolishness. They always got this way when they were playing their game. They were always playing their game, Nabiki noted.

The sirens and lights stopped after a few more minutes following a couple of large explosions and huge flashing lights coming from just beyond the mountains. Half an hour later Ranma and Akane walked into the lobby, ready to go home. Akane was still hanging on to Ranma's waist and didn't even let go when their fathers started singing in joy. Both were expecting the young couple to get married immediately.

Ranma led Akane up to his mother where they parted somewhat, still holding hands. They bowed to Nodoka, she smiled knowingly and bowed back at the young couple.

"Mother. I would like to introduce you to Tendo Akane. With your blessing, we would like to get married on the day following our graduations." It was still a couple months off, but Genma and Soun were lighting sparklers and throwing confetti anyway. Nodoka's face became a whole lot warmer as she looked at Ranma with pride. 

"You have chosen wisely, my son. You have my blessing." Leaning in to Akane, Nodoka kissed the girl on the forehead. "Thank you for making Ranma so happy." Akane blushed but caught Ranma's attention and kissed him quickly.

Nabiki had seen this coming for months; she had the pictures of Ranma and Akane in bed to prove it, but she was still a little surprised Ranma had worked up the guts to make his intentions known so calmly. Other thoughts were running through her mind at the same time, like charging all the jealous boys and girls at school for admission into the wedding ceremony. Nabiki grinned a little more.

Once everyone had made their way out of NERV Kasumi realized they were one person short. "Ranma? Was Ranko not here today?"

"Huh? No she was here. Uhm . . . the Commander needed her help with something is all." Telling everyone about Akane's blow up could make everyone unnecessarily nervous so he sidestepped that part of his explanation. "She'll be along when she's done."

"Did you find out where your sister went last night?" Nodoka asked.

"Uhm. . . I don't think we got around to that. Things got kinda hectic. Heh he." Ranma scratched the back of his head a little embarrassed. "You know mom, Ranko's not really my sister."

"Why on earth would you say such things, Ranma?! Of course she is your sister." Nodoka reprimanded. 

Ranma groaned and hung his head. He could hear Akane giggle softly as she squeezed Ranma a little harder. 'This would be funny for Akane. She doesn't have to be worried about people saying she married her sister.' Akane hadn't really mentioned marriage to Ranko in the short time they spent together while they waited for someone to pick them up. They'd probably hold that discussion off until after their families left tomorrow.

Kasumi and Nabiki had heard the disappointment in Ranma's voice and Akane's giggle and came up with their own conclusions. Kasumi frowned, but Nabiki started working on a few more moneymaking schemes. This could be a very profitable wedding. 'Ranma, you stud.' 

Commander Ikari left the interrogation room and entered the observation room where Ranko had been watching for the past hour. Misato had been on the verge of tears the entire time while Gendou was questioning her. After a half an hour she gave in and told the Commander how she got Akane angry to test her sync ratio. Apparently she lied to Akane about how Ranma was really in love with Ranko because she was uglier than Ranko. 

Ranko had frowned at the confession. Except for a few details, it was awfully close to the truth. Anyone could figure out what buttons to push from listening to the argument Ranma and Akane still had occasionally. Hell, they had been calling each other 'tomboy' and 'pervert' as pet names because they used to fight so much. But Ranko was more worried about the other part. Their relationship could become volatile if they couldn't redress Akane's jealousy.

Gendou stood next to Ranko, a grim expression on his face. "Kaji."

"He's not on security is he?" Ranko asked.

"No. I use him sometimes for recon, to talk with SEELE, and sometimes to help train Eva pilots."

Ranko nodded and watched Misato sobbing into her arms. "He manipulated Captain Katsuragi pretty well. Are you going to hold her responsible or do you go after Kaji?"

"Kaji." Ranko figured as much. Misato didn't offer much to NERV in the way of intelligence. She had her suspicions on how Misato came to serve under Gendou. But she was also quite loyal in her convictions to protect the Eva pilots. "Misato will be moved onto NERV grounds where we can keep a close eye on her until she has regained my confidence."

"And Kaji?"

Gendou let out a deep breath and let it out slowly. "He will be kept away from NERV, but he is still a part of SEELE. Until they decide to get rid of him, he is under their protection, but we'll be waiting."

Ranko nodded and watched Misato for another moment before leaving the room.

"Ranko. Give my apologies to Miss Tendo for the misunderstanding." The door closed quietly behind Ranko as she walked down the hallway.

'Yeah. 'Sorry for almost blowing your brains out Akane, but these things happen. You understand, don't you?' Feh. He's damn lucky nothing happened to her; there wouldn't even be the brain matter of his left to scoop up.'

Ranko hopped into Eva 002, giving herself a second glance at Eva 003, inactive now with Ranma's absence. She wondered briefly if the unit would ever be used again. Ranma had been a special person, anyone else may be unsuitable to the creature. They had bonded much like Ranko had to her Eva, body and soul; when Ranma had lost faith in NERV so had Eva 003. It sat now, still in docking, quiet and motionless in the dark; abandoned. Ranko had tried to offer the unit comfort, but she was rejected and the Eva went further into depression.

Her entry plug was installed into Eva 002, she was ready to launch and eager for battle to take her mind off of things.

"Eva 002, prepare for launch sequence." A few moments later, Misato came back and launched her into the city above. She was given enemy telemetry and the standard AT breaking rifle. Ranko rarely used the rifle, but when she was facing an Angel alone it was insisted that she take the rifle just in case.

The Angel was fifty miles out to the North near Kyoto. Flying the distance would be tiring in the Eva, even for Ranko, so she ran most of the way, dodging houses and animals along the way. The Angel was up to something this time. It wasn't coming for NERV like the others had, but standing still, a trap most likely. 

If only that had been true. Ranko arrived at the slaughter too late. The city was gone, rubble. Nothing left but body parts and trashed buildings. The Angel was still there, mutilating the last of the bodies it could find and tossing them aside. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Normally the Angel was fixated on NERV, a great source of power to be tapped. This Angel was using the bodies it found for energy, sending the energy back as soon as it got it. 

Ranko ignored the talk coming over coms, just studying her opponent briefly before jumping in for a fight. She had had enough frustration for the last couple of months that fighting the Angel sounded like a whole lot of fun. Almost reflexively, Ranko looked over her right shoulder for Ranma, he wasn't there. He may never be again.

After the incident with Akane, Ranma stayed at the temple, helping his fiancée find the inner peace she needed. They stayed together for many private hours Ranko wasn't admitted to. She could understand, they loved each other. If Ranko had been there, the love triangle would've screwed something up, so she spent most of her time at NERV or the Misaki Shrine on top of the hill. 

Few words were spoken between Ranko and the other two. Things had gotten too awkward for her and they needed to concentrate on each other. There was a small discussion late one night after dinner about what to do with their relationship. Ranma stayed quiet because anything else would've put him in trouble. Akane had first wanted to have all three of them married, but after Second Impact, bigamy was outlawed. She then thought of keeping Ranko as a mistress, Ranko turned that down quickly. She wasn't going to be someone's third wheel or consolation prize. Ranko had asked why marriage was necessary at all, but Akane and Ranma had both declared their desire for marriage, if for nothing else but to uphold the honor of the promise made between the two families.

Ranma and Akane stayed with Ranko at the temple for the rest of the semester, helping her out with Martial Arts class, then moving back to Nerima for the summer.

NERV had opposed their leaving, but the sync tests discouraged them. After Akane's psychotic episode, Ranma had failed to sync with the Evas entirely. It had been Ranma's decision more than anything. His ki potential was still there, but the will to put it forth for NERV was gone. She was going to miss him, but Ranko covered for Ranma, giving Gendou the 'reason' for the poor sync ratio. It was something about his feelings for Akane, and the betrayal he felt resulting in an imbalance centered on his emotions for NERV. Total bullshit, but Ranko loved them both too much to keep them apart. 'Leave the protection of the planet to me and be happy.' Ranko had thought. 

She stood facing Angel-9, dripping with blood from its pronged limbs. A steady stream of white energy was being sent upwards from the core, a link to whatever needed the power.

Ranko growled at the Angel and set upon it, the rifle left on the ground and her hands filled with ki. She wanted to feel it crumple beneath her hands. The fight wouldn't take long, but it would be somewhat satisfying to destroy something so vile in an all too gruesome manner. 

Ops was still yelling at her over coms, she shut down the link and continued to pound the Angel into the ground. It would have been a very formidable foe. It had retractable spikes all along its body, razor sharp and very strong. A blast of red energy could be focused through its mouth, demolishing everything in its way. 

It would've been a dangerous enemy but Ranko didn't give it the chance. She covered the distance between them in the blink of an eye, breaking the AT field with a flying ki kick to the stomach and continuing from there. She could imagine people watching her through the Eva's optics and feeling nauseous all over ops.

Two other Angels had arrived on earth during the last few months and she had treated them with the same amount of animosity. People wondered if this wasn't the reason recent attacks had been occurring outside of Tokyo-3. Stronger Angels continued to fall to earth and Ranko defeated them each in turn. She seemed unbeatable, unstoppable, and . . . unhappy.

When Ranma and Akane left for summer, things only got worse.

"Friends, family, and loved ones; we gathered here today to witness the joining of two special people in the bonds of holy matrimony . . ."

Akane wanted a western style wedding. The long-awaited day had finally arrived. Outside the Tendo dojo birds were singing on the branches of cherry blossom trees that had been planted for just this occasion. The wind was light and warm, carrying the scent of blossoms throughout the home. Only a few clouds had lingered in the sky above, but the sun still shown brightly and without opposition. Lilacs floated in the koi pond next to the podium the priest was performing the ceremony from. 

It was a wonderful scene. The audience sat in chairs in the yard, surrounded by flowers hung from posts on either side. Across the pond, Ranma had stood with Ryouga, nervously playing with the cuffs of his black and white tux, while Akane made her slow walk through the audience. A group sigh descended over the assembly as they stared at how elegant and beautiful Akane looked, some wishing they were in her place.

Akane's dress was long and white, made of a soft and shimmering fabric that caused people to hold their breath when the light hit her just right. The design was conservative yet intricate. A webbed pattern made its way along her forearms and around her neck. It hugged her body in a provocative way while remaining true to the occasion. A thin see-through bit of fabric covered her face, but Ranma could still see her deep brown eyes watching and smiling at him. Ukyo followed a few feet behind, holding a small gold ring, cupped in her hands.

After Soun had given his daughter away, Ranma took her hand, standing on her right before the priest. Ryouga and Ukyo stood a ways off so people could take a few pictures of the young couple. They could remember their own wedding a few years ago. It hadn't been anything so elegant, just a small assembly in an old church near Ukyo's home, but it had been just as perfect.

The priest had finished giving his speech on love and blissful living, which people had only half listened to, and was now reciting the vows. Ranma held Akane's right hand and looked into her eyes. He was still very nervous about expressing his feelings, especially in public, but staring into his love's eyes he found the courage and strength he needed to go on.

"Ranma Saotome, do you promise to love and cherish Akane, to keep her and protect her, for richer or poorer, through sickness and health, after demon possession, mortal combat, and defending the world from interdimensional space rogues, for as long as you both shall live?" The priest had thought this to be a bit strange when Nabiki gave him the revised ceremony, but everyone watching had taken it in stride. In fact, they seemed to agree with it whole-heartedly.

Ranma swallowed once, a drop of sweat rolling down his forehead. "I-I d . . . do." He let out the breath he wasn't even aware he was holding and smiled at Akane.

"And do you, Akane Tendo, promise to love and cherish Ranma, to honor and obey him," Akane almost coughed when he said 'obey' and gave herself a moment to glare at Nabiki who was filming the event from across the pond. "for richer or poorer, through sickness and health, after kidnapping, food poisoning, sporadic malleting, and unforeseen fiancées, for as long as you both shall live?"

There was no hesitation on Akane's part. "I do."

"The rings please." Ryouga and Ukyo stepped in closer to their charges and offered the golden symbols of their love. "Ranma place the ring on Akane's left hand and repeat after me. I, Ranma Saotome,"

Ranma placed the ring over Akane's finger and followed the priest's instructions. "I, Ranma Saotome,".

"Do solemnly swear,"

"Do solemnly swear, to love you always, through all of life's challenges, and promise to cherish you with all my heart."

Akane finished her own vows, her hands never leaving his. Distantly, she could hear the sounds of women crying and men grinning. It didn't matter that they were other fiancées or enemies, but that they were there to honor their bond, which would bind them from this day forth. The priest cut into her thoughts with the most wonderful announcement she had ever heard.

"I now pronounce you, husband and wife." Ranma could only stare at the treasure before him. A woman bathed in light and surrounded by a white silk, captivating all his senses. Many people speak of it, but some people would swear to it, that during this particular wedding, the bride was enveloped in a soft white glow that could only be her love. 

"You may kiss the bride." He had nearly forgot. Ranma leaned over and lifted the veil, savoring every moment, memorizing every detail, and then he kissed her. Holding her tightly in his arms, he didn't let go of her for as long as he had the breath to continue. 

The applause drowned out whatever the young couple might have said to their parents, but it didn't matter. Ranko had seen enough to soak two Kleenexes. She laid down on her stomach before the TV, eating a box of chocolates while trying to hold a smile. 

Nabiki had mailed her the videotape a week before. Ranko hadn't had the guts to watch it then; she still didn't. Ranma and Akane had called to tell her the news and she listened politely, congratulating them and sending her love; all the nice normal things someone would expect. After she had hung that phone, Ranko did exactly what she was doing now, polishing off another box of chocolate and getting very depressed. 

Rei, Shinji, and Ritsuko were sitting on the couch behind her, each with their own caring expression. Ritsuko had never known about Ranko's feelings for her 'brother' and 'sister', but sitting there and watching Ranko smother her face in her arms after eating enough fudge to make anyone sick, she did get a frown for what was implied. Shinji was blissfully unaware of anything but the feel of Rei's body hugging his arm. Rei, on the other hand, was taking in everything. Most of her attention was locked on the screen and how the scene was affecting Ranko. Ritsuko's confusion, while entertaining, was not particularly new or interesting.

Ranko sat up once she was sure she had herself under control once again. "Nice wedding. Don't you think?" She sniffed and picked up the trash from the floor.

Shinji spoke without thinking. "Oh yeah. Ranma and Akane sure seem happy with each other. I'm glad nothing came between them while they were here. Ouch!"

Rei pinched him but the damage was already done. She expected Ranko to become angry, to thrash Shinji as he deserved. Ranko surprised her though. She just smiled and walked off for the kitchen. "That was pretty dumb."

"Huh?"

Ritsuko stood up and grabbed the last of the garbage. "It was obvious Ranko has feelings for Ranma and Akane. Why else do you think she wouldn't watch that tape for the past week?" 

Shinji looked at the blank screen as if the darkness still held the image of Ranma and Akane on it. "Which one?"

"Both I believe." Rei said.

"Both? Wasn't Ranma her brother?"

Tearing sounds came from the kitchen followed by a sloth-like Ranko. She wore shorts and a muscle tank top Ranma had given her to sleep in while they were sharing a room. Until Ranma joined NERV, Ranko had never had to sleep in clothes, now she couldn't think of falling asleep without the tank top on. 

Everyone fell silent and watched her stumble into the room and flop into the chair at the end of the coffee table. She flipped a chip from her bag to her mouth every now and then, not noticing the stares. They tried to get her to talk without success. Ranko hadn't invited them over. Once word got out of Ranma's second attempt at marriage went by without a hitch, they all wanted to see the tape. Ritsuko missed Ranma a little so she offered to drive Ranko home after school one day, Rei and Shinji had tagged along, and they ended up seeing the tape.

After an hour of one way conversation, Ritsuko finally gave up and took Rei and Shinji home. They had wanted to stay a while longer, but it was almost time for their shift in NERV headquarters. Ranko's depression was taken very seriously after losing Ranma so quickly. Counselors came to the temple to get her to open up, but Ranko had said nothing about it. Each had wished her a speedy recovery and was never seen again.

Ranko was alone again. She'd gone to see Ukyo and Ryouga once while she was here. They had been a little busy with the restaurant and couldn't talk much with her. The Tendos hadn't been back with Akane and Ranma at the dojo again. Nodoka still called to check up on her daughter, but Ranko stopped calling the woman mother. 

She had come to terms with who she was. Ranko was a made up person. She wasn't even Ranma anymore. She was some dumb woman who had fallen into a spring and drowned a long time ago. Lots of people say it, but it was true of her, she was an accident. This wasn't her time or her life, she had gotten it because Genma knocked his son into a cursed spring. That's what she was, cursed. Her whole life, one big tragedy after another, a great cosmic joke and she was the punchline.

There was no reason for her to keep going on like this. 'I've got a job to do and I'm letting people down by acting like a stick in the mud.' That didn't get her out of her funk though. She tried other arguments to setup her determination once again, but none of them worked. 'Maybe I just need a soak in the furo and a good night's sleep.' 

Ranko made her way to the furo, dropping her clothes on the way and ending with her underwear wadded up in the corner of the bathroom. The water was cold as Ranko hadn't bothered with preparing it first, but she lowered her body in anyway. She shivered a bit and curled into the fetal position. Sighing, she focused herself into warming the furo with her ki. A soft white glow filled the water and Ranko closed her eyes, expecting the steam to help her relax. Something was odd, however. She argued with thoughts in her mind telling her she hadn't used her ki yet. 

The water stopped glowing and the water was still cold. Ranko could almost swear she was no longer alone, but how was that possible with the others gone. Her eyes were still closed and she didn't want the intruder to get jumpy until she had subdued them. Senses opening up to her surroundings, Ranko could feel the gentle ripple of water caused by someone else's body and a sweet fragrance of peaches. Whoever it was, they weren't trying to hide themselves.

Ranko opened her eyes and watched a young girl floating above the water, smiling at her. She had long black hair and wore a red and white dress of some sort. Ranko had to blink when she noticed the markings on the girl's forehead; the same ones she saw on the Goddess at the shrine. Who was this girl?

"Hi, I'm Skuld." She offered her hand to the naked Ranko, still lying in the furo.

"Skuld?" She then realized she hadn't really asked the question out loud and had gotten an answer. Ranko reached out to take the handshake; her hand twisted to a cross pinky grab and yanked the girl into an arm lock, her other arm closing over the girl's neck.

"Gak . . . cough . . Hey . hey, let me go!"

Ranko put more strength into the hold. "What are you doing in my house?!" There was no response, only violent waving showing the girl was attempting a response at all. Something was digging into Ranko's chest. She craned her neck to take a look at the weapon strapped to Skuld's back; a mallet. "You come looking for a fight with the world's greatest martial artist? I think you should go back to your corner of the world and practice some more."

"I'm not . . cough" Skuld grabbed Ranko's arm and tried to pull it from her neck but wasn't strong enough. She tapped the arm to indicate she gave up. Ranko loosened the chokehold and Skuld sucked in a lung full of air, panting for a moment. When she had calmed down a little, Skuld looked around and noticed her dress was wet up to her chest. She was lying over the edge of the furo with Ranko's body pinning her against the side, her right arm still held behind her back. "Let me go you insane martial artist! I'm not here to challenge you!"

"What are you doing here?"

Her arm was released and Skuld sat on her butt facing Ranko, rubbing her sore arm. She was very upset over the ruin her dress had become. "Man! I'm gonna have to get this cleaned now! Maybe I should just get a new one." Ranko was still waiting, her hands ready for action at the slightest hint of a fight. "Oh, would you calm down. I came down here to see you. I don't know what I was thinking, but I was hoping for a warmer reception than this. In fact, this is freezing!" Skuld curled up the same way Ranko had and opened her palm in the water. It warmed up immediately and began to steam. She swiped her hands over her body, changing the look of her dress into something more appropriate for the tub, nothing.

"What!?!" Ranko had jumped out of the water when she felt the temperature begin to rise. She had met a few other people that could use ki, none of which could cause a tub to suddenly boil.

"Oh, I'm not going to boil you. Now, you are . . . oh what was the name, Ranko?"

Ranko nodded and lowered herself into the water.

"I thought so, but I had to check. You never treated me like that before." Skuld had pouted the last part out and hung her head a little.

Ranko felt bad about manhandling the little girl now. She was feeling depressed and when the girl appeared it had felt like an intrusion into something very personal and Ranko had acted the only way she knew how. "I'm sorry I hurt you. What are you doing in my bathroom?"

Skuld instantly brightened and jumped into Ranko's lap, hugging her around the neck. She saw Ranko tense, ready to punch, but her mind was forcing Ranko to hold back. "I came to visit. Once I heard you were back I knew you would want to see your little Skuld-chan. Well, I'm not the same little girl you once knew. It's been, what, almost a millenium since I last saw you. I waited all the same and did everything you asked me too." Skuld pulled back a little and gave Ranko another of her cute smiles. "I even ate my vegetables."

"Uhm, that's nice, but what are you doing here?" The girl in her lap was obviously nuts.

"I told you, I'm here to see you. So?"

"So, what?"

Skuld rolled her eyes and let go of Ranko's neck, but continued to sit in her lap. "Have you seen dad?"

Ranko's eyes bugged out of her head. 'Dad? Who was this Skuld? Was she another abandoned child? Did Genma have some illegitimate child while on his twelve year long training trip? That bastard!'

"Who's Genma?"

"What?" Ranko had completely forgotten about the girl's apparent talent to read thoughts and so was shaken at the question.

"Who's Genma?"

"He's, uh, your father, isn't he?"

Skuld searched her mind for an image of Genma Saotome. 'Ewe. What a terrible man! How could she think of making up such a bad joke!' "That's not funny at all!"

"You're not Genma's illegitimate daughter?"

"No."

Okay, now Ranko was seriously lost. Didn't this girl just ask for her daddy? The only person Ranko knew fitting that description was Genma. Well, he sort of fit that description. "Who is your father then?"

"Oh, c'mon mom. You know daddy."

Ranko stood up, dropping Skuld unceremoniously into the water. "MOM?!"

At the same moment two older girls appeared in the bathroom. The mirror above the sink glowed white for a moment and the Goddess Bellandy tumbled out. From the door, a tall, tanned, and buxom woman rushed through. Both screamed at the same time. "No Skuld! Don't say anything!"

Skuld sputtered to the surface of the water, spitting out the water in her mouth. "Bell-chan? Urd? Did you come to see mom too?"

Bellandy was too busy rubbing her neck after landing roughly on the floor so Urd took the initiative. "Skuld, what do you think you're doing you dumb brat?! She's not supposed to know about any of this yet."

"Hey! Don't call me dumb, you dumb ex-demoness!" Urd shut up and looked between Ranko and the floor, a guilty look on her face. Bellandy regained her footing and took over the silence.

"Would the two of you please stop fighting. Urd is right Skuld, but the damage is done."

"We could erase her memory. I'm sure He wouldn't mind." Bellandy and Skuld frowned at Urd's suggestion. Ranko took up a fighting position and jumped out of the furo, performing a small flip with a twist to end up on the other side of the bathroom facing the three girls.

"No one's erasing nothing. Now, you girls have one minute to explain yourselves before things get physical." A ki ball found its way into Ranko's right hand as she analyzed her opposition.

"Oh you can't hurt us with that bit of energy!" Urd laughed out and regretted it a moment later when Ranko slammed the energy ball into her stomach, sending her crashing out into the hallway.

"Seems to work just fine to me."

"Wow." Skuld gaped at how easily Ranko had knocked Urd around. Urd wouldn't be hurt badly, just enough to keep her down for a while.

"It's okay, Ranko." Bellandy walked slowly towards her, hands out placatingly. "We couldn't erase your memory even if we wanted to. It's one of the rules in Heaven."

"Why did Urd want us to erase momma's memory?" Skuld asked as she stepped out of the furo and formed clothes over her naked body. Ranko realized she was also naked, but she couldn't put her guard down with these strangers in her temple.

Bellandy sighed and grabbed one of the dry towels for Ranko. "Ranko has not yet remembered us or anything else from her past life, Skuld. I wasn't going to tell her until I was sure she was ready."

Ranko accepted the towel but stared at the tall, brown-haired girl. "Bellandy? You're the one I met in the Shrine the first night I was there. What's going on? Why . . . why are you calling me mother?"

It took a while, but Bellandy was able to calm things down, even a raging Urd who rushed back in to the bathroom once she gained the strength. They were now in Ranko's bedroom. Skuld was sitting on the bed and watching Ranko with a smile, she found familiar and heart-warming. Urd was holding her stomach still and sitting next to Skuld, grimacing when the smaller girl hopped around causing the bed to jump a bit. Bellandy stood next to a desk, secretly enjoying seeing her mother again.

Ranko finished slipping on her red shirt, finishing her Chinese ensemble. "Alright, Bellandy, why don't you start off with the short end of this and we'll move on to the long version if I believe you."

"Certainly. You, Ranko, are mother to three Goddesses, Skuld, Urd, and myself. You sort of died a long time ago during a war called Ragnarok. I'm afraid I don't know much more than that."

"Bell-chan." Skuld bounced off the bed and grabbed her sister by the arm. "Why don't you tell mom about-"

"That's it Skuld." Ranko arched her eyebrow at the outburst. Bellandy looked at her evenly. "I don't know much more than that." Ranko nodded and pulled the Sailor pen from subspace, analyzing the object for a moment.

"When did I make this?"

Urd looked over Ranko's shoulder to get a better look. "What is that?"

"Urd was lost to Heaven before you constructed the Henshin rod. Sometime during the war, you empowered nine heroes to become saviors and guardians of these worlds." Bellandy replied to Ranko's question.

"What does it do?" Urd prodded again, evaluating the worth of her mother's rod.

Ranko could sense a bit of Nabiki's material sense in Urd's voice. "Perhaps I'll show you someday, but now is not the time." Ranko threw the rod back into subspace. Urd attempted to retrieve it but failed.

Skuld laughed at her sister's foolish attempts. "You can't take anything from mother without her permission, Urd. She may not be a Goddess, but she is not without her own power."

"What do you mean I'm not a Goddess? If I'm your mother, how could I not be?"

Bellandy gave Ranko a warm caring smile. "You are not a Goddess, but you're right. We can't be your children without one of our parents being of divine origin. Father was God of Courage."

"Where is he?" Old familiarities were beginning to surge through Ranko's mind. The Sailor Scouts had been there, but not the one's she had been given the memories of. She had visions of battles and blood. None of it made much sense now, but maybe her . . . husband? . . . could help her. Bellandy was hiding something from her, what?

"He . . . he is gone. Died fighting Hell by your side."

Ranko felt a pain pass her heart for the man she no longer remembered. The love she must have felt for him was standing before her. Three children, why couldn't she remember? "His name?"

"What was that?" Bellandy tried to hear Ranko's whisper.

"What was his name?"

Skuld was going to answer, but Bellandy cut her off again. "It is not important now. We should begin with your training, though."

"My training?"

"Well sure." Urd circled Ranko speculatively. "You've been, uhm, gone for a long time. And your memory isn't what it was."

"I have fine memory." Ranko huffed. "You can train me? I thought you said Heaven can not interfere."

Skuld smiled and jumped into Ranko's arms. "Well, we aren't interfering with the mortal world and you are family."

"Fine." Ranko stood up from her seat on the bed. "Let's begin with . . . wait. What do you mean you aren't interfering with the mortal world?"

"Well, she meant you of course." Urd purred. 

"Whatever. Let's get going." Ranko plodded out of her bedroom and headed for the backyard. Bellandy shrugged and followed.

It was dark out now. Ranko hadn't been paying attention to the time. Whenever someone came around, capable of teaching her something new, she jumped at the chance and forgot everything else. It was simply her way. 

Ranko opened the sliding door into the house and dropped Urd onto the couch. The Goddess had been very helpful as an opponent. Bellandy had instructed her in the use of many of her Henshin powers, there was still more to learn, but Bellandy had been to young to remember. Skuld had helped with her technology, hiding their power signatures from NERV sensors. 

They had each taken turns sparring with Ranko, but only Urd's time as a demoness had proven anything near to a challenge for her. Skuld had done well, but her only skill resided in the use of her hammer. She reminded Ranko of Akane when she got upset at being unable to hit her. Urd reminded her more of Ranma, his almost unthinking confidence was much like her own.

Bellandy was so unlike her sisters, however. She was quiet and reserved. But Ranko could see she was also older than she seemed and full of secrets. Bellandy entered the temple after Ranko, supporting an exhausted Skuld in her arms. 

"You went a little hard on them, don't you think?"

Ranko smoothed the hair out of Urd's face and sat down on the couch beside her. "I suppose, but I had to know."

"And? What did you learn?"

Ranko checked Skuld, she sported a few bruises like Urd but she had lasted longer than Urd, very impressive considering. Neither had come close to actually hurting Ranko, but for some reason, she hadn't expected anything other.

"Tell me about myself, Bellandy. I am not a Goddess, but I'm more powerful than three Goddesses. So what does that make me?"

"I've told you already, Ranko." Bellandy sat down in the sofa chair as Skuld dropped to the floor in front of the TV, fast asleep. "You are a Champion."

"That's not entirely true, is it?"

Bellandy didn't respond. Ranko didn't have much time to think about this as Urd crawled into her lap and fell asleep, resting her head on Ranko's legs. It was very peaceful, but a bit odd. Ranko knew these girls thought she was their mother, but Ranko was only now turning twenty. She wasn't old enough to be anyone's mother. Was she really so old and the spring had hid it from her?

"Can you tell me how old I am, Bellandy?"

"No."

"Bellandy." Ranko sighed and ran her fingers through Urd's platinum hair. "If I am your mother like the three of you say, aren't you being a bit ungrateful? Don't I deserve to have my questions answered?"

Bellandy's face became downcast and she stared at the ground. Ranko was right but . . . things were different. Her mother had died a long time ago and Bellandy had taken over, caring for her sisters and getting by without her guidance. If anything, Ranko owed her if she was their mother, but Bellandy didn't fully believe that. She thought Urd felt the same way, but evidence to the contrary was hugging Ranko around the waist. Skuld accepted Ranko right away, as Bellandy knew she would, but she was not the same person their mother was.

Ranko sighed when she noticed Bellandy wasn't going to answer her again. She didn't blame the Goddess. God knew that Ranko was having a hard time believing any of this. Less than a year and a half ago, Ranko was still wandering what was left of the earth, getting into fights, and practicing the Art, not even thinking of her family. True, she had seen strange things, including ancient monsters, magical relics, and strange powers, but things like this could still surprise her.

She stood up and grabbed Urd under the legs and arms, hefting the Goddess into her arms. "Help me take your sisters to bed. The three of you look like you could use some sleep. It's been a long day and tomorrow is a school day. I should return to NERV. A week has been long enough for me to stay away."

Three of the rooms had beds in them so Ranko set the Goddesses up in these. Bellandy had gone straight to bed after putting Skuld down, avoiding anymore questions Ranko might've asked. Ranko herself took a cot and headed for the roof. It was a clear night and she needed to be alone with her thoughts.

End Chapter Six

It has been six months since Bellandy, Urd, and Skuld came to visit Ranko. They still had their jobs to tend to in Heaven, but they had each taken to returning to the temple at the end of their shifts. She didn't believe it at first when Bellandy started dialing a long string of numbers in the telephone to call the office. But then she was transferred to her boss and had to hand the phone over to Ranko. God's voice was gentle and deep, soothing her soul just listening to Him. He had been very friendly to her, like they were old friends, which was possible considering Ranko was mother to three of His Goddesses.

Even though the three girls seemed older than her, Ranko soon came to think of them as her daughters. Bellandy and her still had their problems, but they found a bit of peace so long as neither one of them talked about Ranko's past. Ranko did enjoy the girl's enthusiasm to spend time with her, training Ranko in her powers and keeping her in top condition with her martial arts. They didn't fight her too much, but they sent energy blasts her way so Ranko could dodge, fight energy with energy, and take the hit to toughen her up. They each came back tired, but by the end of the six months they were all in the best condition of their lives. 

Ranko discovered that her daughters had powers but they were quite dissimilar to her own. The Goddesses powers came from Heaven. When they used some of the energy it took the computer, they gave it a name Ranko couldn't remember, some time for it to replenish their lost energy. So they had a fixed amount which could not be increased or decreased unless God chose to change it.

Ranko's powers on the other hand were increasing with each sparring match her daughters gave her. They weren't good enough to beat her, but three on one helped keep the fights interesting.

The four girls were at the moment enjoying a nice long soak in the furo. That was one of the nice things about the temple, the furo was quite large and comfortable enough to lie in for a long time. Skuld still clung to her mother every chance she had. Urd sometimes glomped onto her arm, but she had her image to look after when others visited the temple. Ranko wasn't sure how to introduce three Goddesses as her daughters so she told Rei and Shinji, who came over most often, that they were friends from the Amazon tribe. No one knew that much about the Amazons so they didn't ask questions.

"So how did your last assignment go Bellandy?"

"Fine, Ranko." The girl was rather stiff in Ranko's company, but their conversations had gotten a bit more amiable. "Just a small dispute on one of the other planes. Nothing too big."

"I went bug hunting today through the computer." Skuld was as sweet as ever. Ranko thought it funny that Skuld acted like a child, but she was around twelve hundred years old. Urd explained that as Goddesses, twelve hundred was not really that old at all, and being in God's employment stuck most Angels with personalities consistent with their position. 

Ranko smiled at her 'little' girl. She had some misgivings over becoming a teenage mom, but the girls were so sweet and it wasn't like she was raising them from infancy. 

Urd also had her report to make, gaining her mother's attention. "I finally got these two kids together after eighteen years of work. They make such a wonderful couple." 

Ranko was a little sad; the conversation reminded her of Ranma and Akane. They'd called a few times during the summer, saying they wanted to visit but something always came up. She had gotten over their marriage and even sent them a wedding gift; some starting money for their new life running the dojo and an ornate glass with gold dragon. A bit late but appreciated none the less. 

"Anyone I know, Urd?" Ranko was busy washing out Skuld's hair as she daydreamed.

"I don't think so. It's a couple in China. They're a part of some Amazon village. Crazy names those kids had. What was it . . . Hairgel and Bodyoder? No, Mascara and Soapbubble. No. What was it?"

As a small joke to herself, Ranko thought of two people who would've made the worst couple in the world. One of them was a blind fool, desperately seeking the attention of an abusive man hater. Ranko smirked and idly commented, "Mu Tsu and Xian Pu?"

"Yes, that's it!"

"What?!" Skuld yelped when Ranko's hand caught a strand of hair and almost pulled it out. "Sorry, Skuld-chan. You can't be serious, Urd. Mousse and Shampoo?" It was the easy Japanese way of saying the Chinese names.

"Yep. They were a tough assignment, what with all the strangeness in their life."

"Do you know these people, Ranko?" Bellandy asked.

Ranko nodded, her eyes wide in shock. "No one believed that Shampoo would ever fall in love with that near-sighted moron. Everywhere they went, Shampoo would smash him over the head with one of her bombori and told him he was an idiot, but he kept clinging to her. Heh, I guess persistence does pay off."

Urd nodded and moved in when Ranko was done with Skuld. As if it were some sort of ritual, Ranko automatically placed Urd between her legs and started to lather up the platinum hair. The color was extraordinary on someone so young looking, but it fit her middle daughter perfectly, accentuating her tanned skin and stunning figure. Ranko would be jealous of Urd's body, but this was her child and it only made her proud.

"How do you know about them, mom?" Urd asked while leaning against her mother's thighs and resting her arms on Ranko's knees. 

"I've been an Amazon for almost fourteen years." Ranko answered.

"You are?!"

"Of course." Ranko looked at her staring daughters with some confusion. "Didn't you know?" Heads shook. "Oh, I thought as Goddesses, you would be privy to my life."

"Yes, normally we would be Ranko." Bellandy began. "But since you are a Champion and Guardian of Creation, your files are locked to everyone except God."

"Why?"

Skuld blinked and cut Bellandy off, her turn. "Because your kind is very important to God, and he doesn't want any of you being hurt because someone bad found your file and discovered your weaknesses."

"Feh, I haven't got any weaknesses."

Bellandy snorted at the arrogance her mother, no, Ranko portrayed. "Everyone has a weakness, Ranko. Only God is infallible."

"I never said I didn't make mistakes, Bellandy. Everyone does. But I don't have any weaknesses. Unless there is someone either stronger, faster, or more skilled than myself, I can't be beaten."

Bellandy didn't hold back this time and started to laugh heartily. "That's utterly ridiculous, 'mom'." She made the word sound like an insult. Getting out of the furo, Bellandy threw on her robe and strode to the door. "I'd think your pathetic life and lack of a soul mate were two pretty major failings on your part." The door snapped shut behind her.

The other two sisters sat in shock at Bellandy's strange and . . . rude behavior. This had never happened before, Bellandy acting mean? She was the Goddess of Tranquility for Christ's sake! Urd and Skuld didn't even bat an eyelash, to amazed at what they had heard.

Ranko, on the other hand, was practically seething. Her aura had erupted about her body upon Bellandy's taunts. She didn't want to hate the girl, but Bellandy was making it so hard on her. Ranko had tried to close the gap between them, so they could be close like Urd and Skuld were. But every time she believed they were making some headway, Bellandy pushed her further.

Urd and Skuld noticed their mother's blue aura heating the furo to a boil. They jumped out and watched the redhead shake in anger for a while, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. Finally, Ranko dropped her hands, straining for the control she had lost on her temper.

"Mom?" Her daughters chorused, each a bit worried.

Ranko took in a deep breath and counted back from ten. "I'm fine." Her aura reduced after some inward thought. She leaned back against the furo and closed her eyes. A quiet sniff was her only sign of sadness; it was not missed by either sister.

"Mom, Bellandy isn't-"

"It's okay, Skuld. Your sister and I have been having some problems for a while. I just thought we were getting past it. It took me by surprise, that's all."

Urd and Skuld frowned. They may never have cooperated before, but they were suddenly compelled to gang up on their sister. With a nod to one another, the sisters picked up their robes and headed for the door.

"We're gonna . . ."

". . . get something to eat. Want anything?"

"No thanks." Ranko responded as they left the bathroom. She kept her eyes closed until her children were out the door. Letting them gang up on Bellandy was not a good idea, but Ranko was going to give them some leeway. If they are able to resolve anything, good. If not, she would intervene. "I hope you two can help me out with Bellandy. I just don't get that girl." She sighed and looked at the soapy water, pulled the plug, and got out. 

Bellandy was in her room, staring at her hands that looked so dirty in her eyes. 'What is wrong with me? How could I say those terrible things to her? Ranko has been nothing but nice to me. I'm the Goddess of Tranquility, yet I can feel myself falling apart. I've never done anything like that before, why start now? It's Ranko's fault. Ever since I met her I've been getting these bad thoughts in my head. I have to get my sisters away from her before the same thing happens to them. What can I do? I can't take them on by myself. Maybe if I drugged them or took them while they were asleep I could get them to Heaven and . . . WHAT THE HELL?!' Bellandy started pacing around the room, hitting herself in the head. 'Tranquility. Tranquility! TRANQUILITY!'

"Bellandy!" Urd charged into the room and straight up to Bellandy, staring her directly in the eye. "Just what the Hell was that about?!"

"Uhh! I don't know! It's Ranko, she just makes me so angry and I don't know why!"

"Well get over yourself!"

"Yeah!" Skuld chimed. "We like her and we don't like it when you make her cry!"

Bellandy stopped in her tracks, staring at herself in the vanity mirror across the room. Her reflection seemed twisted and evil, but it was still her sweet, pleasant face that made her Tranquility. It no longer seemed beautiful to her, though. Bellandy could only see emotionless eyes, small horns growing out of her forehead, and some fire in the background. "I . . . I made her cry?"

"Cut the crap, Bellandy." Urd shoved her onto the futon, facing her. "That was your intention from the beginning and I want to know why."

"I don't know."

"Don't give me that!" Urd snarled. "You knew exactly what you were saying when you told her how arrogant she is!"

"I . . ."

"You knew what you were saying when you told her how pathetic she was for not having her love."

"I . . . 'sniff' . . . Ranko . . ."

"You are one of the nicest people in the world except when it comes to our mother."

"'sniff' . . . 'sniff'"

"What did she ever do to you to make you treat her like this?" Urd picked up Bellandy's face by the chin and stared into her tear-filled eyes. "If you don't like mom then why don't you go back to Heaven?! Her life is hard enough without you trying to make her miserable! Why do you HATE her so much?!"

"Because she left us!!" Bellandy swatted Urd's hand away and buried her face in the pillows on her futon.

"What?" Skuld questioned Urd. 

"Got me squirt. I was gone when mom died, remember?"

The door opened again and Ranko walked in wearing a robe from the bathroom, her hair bound into its pigtail fashion once again. "You certainly do like the direct approach, don't you Urd?" She sat down on the bed and stared sympathetically at Bellandy's heaving back. Tentatively, Ranko reached out and put her hand on her eldest daughter's back, rubbing a circular pattern to calm the girl down. "Shh. Bellandy . . . I'm sorry. I'm sure I didn't want to leave you girls, but I was still your mother and I had to protect you. I'm back now. Please let me make up for our lost time. Can you forgive me?"

Bellandy wiped the tears from her eyes and stared at Ranko, brown eyes meeting blue ones.

"I never meant to hurt any of you. Please give me a second chance." Ranko held out her arms, hoping to feel Bellandy in them and know that everything would be alright. A warm joy filled Ranko's heart as she felt Bellandy embrace her, squeezing and sobbing for her mother.

"I'm sorry, mom. I'm sorry. I missed you so much and after you were gone . . . I'm sorry." 

Ranko rocked Bellandy in her arms for a little while, making soothing sounds. Urd and Skuld had remained quiet the entire time. Neither had realized how bad it had been for their older sister. After Ranko and their father had died, Bellandy had taken over raising her sisters. Not as hard as humans, but when you are raising Goddesses the job lasts infinitely longer, in this case, a century and a half.

Skuld nudged Urd in the side. "Urd-chan, you think we should leave them?"

"You kidding?" Urd smiled broadly at her sister and mother. "This is the kind of stuff the Goddess of Love lives for."

"Self-proclaimed . . ."

Urd growled, but Ranko stopped her with a look. "Well kids, let's head downstairs. I'm told milk and cookies are good in times like these." The girls nodded and followed Bellandy, holding Ranko's arm, out the door.

The doorbell rang as the Guardian and her daughters entered the kitchen. Skuld offered to answer it; Ranko hadn't been expecting anybody maybe just someone from NERV checking up on her. 

Skuld opened the door for a man carrying a number of boxes in his arms. She couldn't see any details because the package covered his face. The man squeezed past her, excusing himself, and headed for the living room to set the boxes down.

"Hey Ranko! It's been a while." The man grabbed Skuld around the shoulders and gave her a strong hug and a kiss on the cheek. "We've been. . . when did you grow out your hair? Did you dye it?" 

Ranma took a step back to get a good look at the girl in his arms. This was definitely not Ranko. She was about the same size, but had long black hair and strange markings on her face. Letting his eyes roam a little further down, he noticed she wasn't wearing anything but a robe, a robe that was slipping open.

Skuld followed the pigtailed man's eyes to her robe. The left side had slipped open, giving the man a good luck at her thigh and plenty more. "YOU PERVERT!!!!!" Thankfully for Skuld, her trusty mallet was never far away. The man tried to say something, but he was silenced as the red mallet sent him to the floor, smashing him over and over again until he was a bleeding pulp, twitching occasionally.

The others rushed in from the kitchen to watch Skuld's final hit. The mallet was left on top of the abused man as the young Goddess stood up, growling at the lecherous man.

A small laugh came from the hallway, catching everyone's attention. A young woman stood there; her black hair was short to give her face a sweet, innocent look, she wore a yellow sundress, and carried a cake box in one hand, the other busy hiding her mirth. "I'm sure he had it coming the baka."

"Akane?" Ranko stepped around Urd to get a better look at the girl in the hallway. It was her. Ranko cried out in joy and ran over to her friend. It's hard to remember how depressed you are that neither of your loves picked you when they're standing in your house. She tried to grab Akane in a hug, but something was blocking her way. Ranko looked down and noticed the bulge that was Akane's waistline. "Boy, you've been slacking off in your exercises big time."

Akane could here Ranma snicker from underneath the mallet. She was a bit sensitive about her figure and decided to take it out on Ranma like she usually does. "Ranma No BAKA!!" The pigtailed boy was sent flying into the backyard through the open door. Akane set her foot down once she heard a satisfying thump, indicating Ranma's landing against one of the trees. He'd be alright. Ranma is one of the strongest martial artists in the world, like he kept telling her.

"You dufus, I'm pregnant."

"PREGNANT?!! Who was the bastard?! I'll hunt him down and kill him! No one messes with my family and gets away-"

"Ranko!" Akane halted the girl's vengeance speech and took a seat on the couch, setting herself down slowly. "You're just as big a baka as my husband is sometimes. I think you know who did it."

"Huh?" Ranko looked puzzled for a moment then got her grip on reality. This wasn't the spirited young girl who fought a horde of boys every day at school, this was her married friend. "Oh, right. Ranma. Uhm, hehe, how are you two doing?"

Akane smiled and patted the seat next to her on the couch. Ranko sat down as she was asked and exchanged kisses on the cheek. "We're wonderful. I wasn't really planning on becoming a mother so soon, but I love it anyway. College will just have to wait another year." Taking a look around the room, Akane settled her gaze on Skuld. "If you don't cover yourself up we might be bashing my husband over the head all night."

Skuld colored and wrapped the robe around her body and tightened the string at her waist.

"Oh, excuse me." Ranko apologized. "Let me introduce you. This is Bellandy, Urd, and Skuld." She pointed a finger to each in turn and then grabbed Akane around the shoulder. "Girls, this is my friend and adopted sister, Akane. That outside is my adopted brother, Ranma."

"Brother and sister?" Bellandy asked with a raised eyebrow. "Didn't they say they were married?"

"Yes?" Ranko wasn't sure where Bellandy was trying to take this. She hoped it wasn't another attempt by the girl to get under her skin. Not after they just had the heart to heart a little while ago. 

"Hey, I get it." Urd laughed and patted Bellandy on the back. "Keep it in the family and all that, right?"

Akane coughed on the air she was trying to swallow. Ranko gave her a couple of good pats on the back. "Girls! Ranma and Akane are from different families. I was adopted by both."

A collective sound of understanding rang through the Goddesses. "Sorry mom."

"Mom?" Ranma entered the room, missing the first half of the conversation. They were doomed to repeat the same mistake. How so like Ranma, Ranko thought. "This some sort of weird sex thing for you Ranko?"

Akane flipped a mallet from nowhere into Ranma's face, causing him to collapse onto the porch. "Baka!" Akane turned back to Ranko a little embarrassed. "Uhm, this isn't, is it?"

Urd couldn't contain herself and jumped into Ranko's lap, holding the surprised girl around the neck and bouncing around excitedly. "Oh, yes. Ranko is such a good mother to us naughty girls." She kissed Ranko on the lips and smiled seductively at Akane.

Ranko stood up and dropped Urd to the ground. "Urd, behave yourself. Akane and Ranma are good friends of mine and I don't want you making fun of them like this."

"Sorry, mom." Urd giggled. "I won't do it again, but you should have seen the looks on your faces."

Ranko tried to stare sternly at the Goddess rolling around on the ground and laughing, tried and failed. She picked up Urd and set her down on her lap, laughing a bit then kissing her on the cheek. "Good. Now apologize to Akane. We have some explaining to do."

Akane watched, wide-eyed, while the girl with platinum hair sat in Ranko's lap, which looked ridiculous considering how much taller she was than Ranko, and set to fainting on the spot.

"Oh well, help me lie her down on her back. Ranma and Akane should be fine while we go change."

Ranko and the Goddesses changed into their normal clothes, those being the things they wear when they aren't at work. Urd may not be wearing her revealing Goddess apparel, but the short shorts and mid-drift tank top weren't that much better. They each sat around an unconscious Akane and Ranma while enjoying their milk and cookies.

"Aren't they martial artists like you?" Skuld asked. "Didn't they feint pretty easy?"

Ranko shrugged and defended her friend's honors. "Akane actually knocked Ranma unconscious and Akane is pregnant. Maybe she can't handle as much strain as she used to."

"Mao, my head." Akane sat up slowly. Her eyes still closed, she reached out and found Ranma's arm. "Ranma, I had this strange dream that we visited Ranko and she was having some lesbian group orgy."

"Hey!" Ranko complained and Akane snapped her eyes open, staring at an enraged and blushing redhead with a pigtail. "You could give me a chance to explain, y'know."

"I could, but teasing you about it and making Ranma uncomfortable is kinda fun." 

Ranko took a look at Ranma and noted that he was indeed awake and trying to hold himself perfectly still. He was obviously closing himself off to the world to avoid seeing anything. Ranko got an evil glint in her eye and spoke an octave higher so Ranma couldn't miss it. "Well as long as you're awake you can join us, Ranma can jump in whenever he wakes up."

Akane giggled. "Sure sounds like fun." She reached over and picked up a glass of milk and a cookie from a small plate.

"No, you can't!" Ranma jumped off the mat and grabbed Akane up into his arms, bouncing over to the hallway. "How can you suggest such a thing, Ranko!"

"Suggest what, my love?" Akane asked, nibbling on a cookie, her eyes glittering with restrained laughter.

Ranma looked up and noticed everyone else dressed and having a snack at the low table. "Uh, I though . . . uhm, nothing Akane. Hehe." He set her down gently on the ground and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. Obviously, the sounds of passion he had heard while 'asleep' were the girls enjoying the food.

"C'mon, Ranma. Have a cookie." Ranko offered. Blushing, he took it and sat down at the couch.

"Alright, Ranko, go ahead. I can't wait to hear this." Akane said, sitting in Ranma's lap crossways.

"Mom?" Skuld asked. They had talked about what to reveal to Ranma and Akane. Ranko didn't want to hide anything from her family because the truth would catch her eventually. The others agreed since lying is also forbidden to them by God. They could lie but they would also be punished later on. Skuld was the only one who hadn't been sure. Before, Ranko had lied for them to the other people who stopped by.

"Don't worry, Skuld. My friends have been through stranger things. This should be easy." Ranko turned to face Ranma and Akane. "Let's see. First off, these are my girls. You were on the road to feinting before so I'll introduce them again. This is Bellandy, Urd, and Skuld, my daughters."

"What? How?" Ranma asked, staring at the Goddesses.

"Mom lived a long time ago, married to our father. We thought they had died a millennia and a half ago. Before that, she had us." Bellandy answered matter-of-factly.

"Cutest sisters in Heaven." Urd announced, modeling her body for Ranma. He noticed and blushed. Akane stared daggers at Urd then hit Ranma over the head with her mallet. Thankfully, he didn't fall unconscious this time.

"I don't get it. You're only twenty, right?" Akane asked.

"Sort of. I'm nineteen this life, but apparently I was alive a long time ago before I drowned in that cursed spring." 

"Twenty."

"Excuse me?" Ranko asked Akane.

"That's why we came over today, Ranko." Ranma answered, grabbing the cake box from the table, keeping Akane balanced in his lap. "Happy Birthday." The lid was opened and Ranko saw a chocolate cake with fudge frosting and twenty candles set randomly. It was one of Kasumi's cakes, the best she'd ever had.

"Oh, you guys. Thanks." Ranko gave her friends a group hug. "I entirely forgot, what with all the stuff that's been going on."

"Yeah, we figured you were busy. Everyone wanted to have a big surprise party, but that kind of thing would be hard to pull off with your job. So they send their love and . . ." Akane grabbed the boxes Ranma had been carrying and passed them over to Ranko. " . . . presents."

"Ok. So let's see. There's one hundred years between Bellandy and myself and three hundred between Skuld and me. That would make four hundred plus the time we thought you were dead and add to that the two millenias before the war God had set about creating Champions and you are . . . uhm, what would that make her, Skuld?" Urd was not very good at math.

"Three thousand nine hundred. That's a guess anyway. Without mom's memories, we don't know exactly when she was born." Skuld replied. She was a little upset her mom didn't have her memories from before. There must be so much she had seen that she could have shared with them.

"Oh, you kids make me feel so young the way you go on about my actual age sometimes." Ranko commented sarcastically. "We should save this for after dinner. You two will be staying won't you?" Ranma and Akane nodded. "Good. Uhm, where is your luggage? You are going to stay here aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah. We left the luggage at the Tendo dojo." Ranma lifted Akane and set her down on the couch like she was a fine porcelain doll. "I'll go get it. Be back in a second."

"Second?" Ranko's question was cut off as Ranma vanished into thin air in front of her, reappearing a few seconds later, holding a two suitcases in his right hand. His left hand dropped to his side from where it had touched his forehead. "What the fu-"

"Mom!" Bellandy had been trying to keep her mother from cursing. Ever since she had taken God's name in vain the first time, the Goddesses felt it important to break their mother of this cursing streak she found herself in occasionally.

"You don't think I haven't been practicing, do you Ranko?" Ranma asked cockily. "I wouldn't want to be an embarrassment to my powerful sensei."

"Oh? And what does that make me?" Akane narrowed her eyes and seemed to take a fighting stance from her place on the couch. Ranma flinched out of habit, expecting a descending mallet on an intercept course for his head.

"I . . uh. . . y'know, I didn't . . . uh." Akane laughed at her husbands fearful stuttering. She knew he wasn't really scared of her, but he felt stupid when he put his foot in his mouth like that.

"Akane. Have you been working on your problem?" Ranko asked. Akane had been holding back her temper very well.

"Of course, Ranko-sensei." She pushed her concentration to form a white glowing aura that sparkled like a star rather than a flame. "Told you I would make it work for me. I need your help though."

"Why is that?"

"Well, it's like you said. Love has no destructive capability so I've been trying to do other things, but I'm not very good at it. Ranma can't do the healing techniques you can. I think he forgot or a bunch of your skills wore off a few days after the melding. Though, it has given him a number of goals to work for. So I was hoping that while we are here you could, y'know."

Ranko looked back and forth between Akane and Ranma. "How long will you be staying? Don't you have a dojo to run?"

"Nah." Ranma sat down beside Akane after dropping the suitcases off in their old room. "Ryouga and Mr. Tendo are gonna watch after things for us. Akane wants to go to college and I somehow got talked into it. We were hoping to move back in with you. At least as long as we needed to check out Juuban University. It's close by and a lot better than anything in Nerima."

"Of course you guys can move back in. What are you guys gonna be studying?"

"Sports Science and Drama." Bellandy answered. Everyone, not a Goddess or redhead, looked at her surprised. "What?"

"You can read our minds?" Ranma asked.

"Of course. We are Goddesses."

"Goddesses?" Akane looked coyly at Ranko.

"Oh, I guess we forgot to mention that. My daughters are Goddesses."

"Uhm, gee Ranko, I think this may be a new one for us."

Ranko laughed at the slight joke. "Yeah, I guess so."

"So, does this mean you really are four thousand years old?" Ranma asked.

"I think so."

"Hey, Urd said something about the creation of Champions. Is that what you are?"

"Uhm, yeah. I guess I've become the Champion of our generation. Not entirely unexpected for the greatest fighter in the world." Ranko flexed an arm, looking very proud. Skuld and Urd had long ago become comfortable with their mother's arrogance and even found it amusing. Though, they wouldn't deny her the right to brag when they have yet to see someone beat her. Bellandy still snorted in disgust, but after her confession, she decided to make an effort to bite her tongue. 

Ranma had his pride too. He remembered their first fight and how easily she had beaten him. After the merging, his pride had only increased though he now knew Ranko had been holding back a lot. Still, he knew a challenge when he heard it, subtle though it was. "You won't be able to brag for long if I have anything to say about it."

"You don't. Most of the time you've got your foot crammed in your mouth. I'm surprised you can say anything at all."

Ranma smiled and tried his hand at verbal insults, another challenge. "Maybe you shouldn't talk so bold. These past couple of months have probably left you with more nightly chocolate binges than I could count."

The Goddesses were becoming a bit nervous at this point. They knew very little about this Ranma person and his remarks seemed to be very aggressive. None of them could use their powers on him, but a physical confrontation is always allowed. Skuld, having the only weapon in the bunch, was preparing her mallet while Urd was balling her fists and Bellandy reached over for the pillow Ranma and Akane had been lying on.

"I told you Ranma, when counting gets too difficult with those big numbers, you should use the fingers on your hands."

Ranma thought a moment, but came back with nothing. "Aw, forget this verbal stuff, let's just fight."

That was all the prompting they needed. Bellandy yelled out and smacked Ranma over the head with a pillow. Urd moved in next, pinning his arms down to his sides and holding him on the ground. Skuld leapt at the opening her sisters gave her, bringing the mallet down on his head. After a few hits, Ranma wasn't moving, but he was saying something.

"Well, are you 'kids' done?" Urd was surprised and she realized he hadn't even attempted to fight back the entire time. It was like he knew what was coming and wasn't worried.

Ranko started to giggle, getting her girl's attention. "Thanks for the thought, my Goddesses, but you should know Ranma and I are very similar in are powers. At least, we used to be. I'm very eager to see how you've improved Ranma. Who knows, if you've gotten good enough, I may show you some real power."

Ranma brushed the girls aside and backflipped to the backdoor, waiting for Ranko to follow. She walked slowly and gracefully, making fun of him every step of the way to prove she was better. "Where should we go?"

"Uhm, Skuld-chan. Could you turn on the energy dampener. This may get . . . noticeable." Skuld nodded and ran passed the two martial artists and into the courtyard where a large metal dish with console was sitting.

Everyone else followed to watch the fight. Bellandy gave Akane a hand, escorting her to the door. "Is he really that strong, Akane-san?"

"Yeah, he is and I used to be right up there with them."

They stepped out of the house and onto the patio where Bellandy directed Akane to a chair. "What happened? Was it because of the pregnancy?"

"No. I was . . . very angry back then." It sounded so corny, but it was the best way to describe it. When she went berserk, Akane had hated everything she saw and wanted to destroy it utterly. She was very glad Ranko stopped her before things got very dangerous.

Bellandy wasn't sure what the girl meant but she could always look it up in Heaven's archives or ask her mother. Right now, though, she was watching her mother square off with the pigtailed boy. They looked so similar; same Chinese clothes, hairstyles, and facial expressions. Could be from the merging, another thing Bellandy wanted to know more about.

"The generator Skuld built will mask our powers so NERV won't know anything is going on and it protects everything attached to the ground, extending for a couple of miles all around. So everyone is very well protected except us. Let's make the most of it." Ranma agreed and took a fighting stance. This fight would go much the same as their old ones, starting off without their ki and then increasing the power when it was getting boring.

Unlike their first fight, Ranma was going to move first this time. He crossed the twenty feet separating them as quickly as possible, throwing a lead jab at Ranko's head. She tilted her head to one side and moved in with a knifehand aimed at his throat. Ranma pivoted on his lead leg to put himself in a better position to grapple Ranko's wrist. She pulled back and dropped an upset punch into his exposed kidney and followed through by hooking his arm and tossing him over her shoulder.

Ranma had missed these sparring matches and wanted this one to last as long as he could make it. Pivoting in the air, Ranma landed on his feet and sprang back into the fight with Ranko in a flying sidekick position. 

Ranko watched the kick coming at her and sprang into the air with a twist flip and a sidekick of her own. They ended up looking like a yin and yang symbol when the collided, exchanging a flurry of blows and a few kicks. Ranko came out on top as she grabbed Ranma's leg and planted her feet in his gut for their landing since they weren't using ki yet. They would be soon unless Ranma wanted to hurt himself.

Ranma proved Ranko wrong however, grabbing her foot and twisting himself out of the way of impact, bringing his hands to bear for the fall and springing away from the site. Ranko landed with all her weight but jumped after him a split second later. They traded more punches and kicks while jumping high in the air, spinning and parrying faster and faster.

They lasted like this for another minute before Ranko push-kicked off of Ranma, landing in a fighting stance twenty feet away from the boy in a similar position. 

"Hey, let's pick this up a notch." Ranma nodded his agreement, their auras jumping around them like blue fire licking at the wind. Ranko smiled and moved in to start the fight up again, ki covering her hands and feet to add to her strength and speed. 

Ranma did much the same.

"They don't look so powerful." Skuld observed. "Mom isn't even going at the level we normally work out at." Urd nodded her head but watched the deadly ballet continue. It was true, Ranko wasn't going to hard, but her mother's fluid grace in the Art still escaped and captivated the Goddesses. Their normal sessions involved the sisters lashing out with energy attacks. Other times Skuld would use her mallet or Urd would try out some martial arts. On all those occasions, Ranko would not attack them, just dodge or block. So it was strange at first to see their mother leaping around the yard gracefully exchanging blows with Ranma.

"They are testing the waters." Akane commented for the Goddess's benefit.

"What do you mean?" Urd asked.

Akane kept her eye on the fight, a bit of her own pride invested in the skill her friend and lover had. "When you haven't seen somebody in a long time, you have to ask them about the things that have happened to them. The first part of the fight is an intricate way of asking each other that same question. They'll step up the fight some when they are certain the other can handle it."

The girls nodded their understanding. "So what is the deal with Ranma and Ranko? I've never seen such powerful humans. At first I thought it was because Ranko is a Guardian, but then Ranma came around. God doesn't imbue his Guardians with extra power so that couldn't be right anyway. So how come they are so powerful?"

Akane thought about it. As Ranko's children, they should know about ki, but that wasn't really the question. "You aren't really surprised by her power are you? You're really asking how she got so powerful so fast."

"Yes, I suppose I am." Bellandy answered.

"Well, Ranko would say anyone could be as strong as her, all they have to do is train all their lives. I hope to God that she and Ranma are truly the last people to ever be trained in such a fashion though."

The Goddesses turned to Akane, moving in closer to hear her better. "You know something about mother's past?" Skuld asked. "She doesn't tell us much about it and we can't read her memories. Will you tell us what you know?"

Akane watched the fight a little longer. It would be a while before Ranko and Ranma got to using their new abilities. She turned back to look at the girls surrounding her. Was her friend really so old? Bellandy and Urd both looked much older than Ranko yet they claimed to be at least a millennia younger. "I can tell you very little since Ranko told me only so much. Let's see, Ranko's name is actually a gift from Ranma and my family. We used to have some trouble talking to them because they both had the same name. At the time, we had no idea they were something of the same person. She was raised in an Amazon village in China, an adopted daughter to the Matriarch, Cologne of the Revlon line. From what she told me, Ranko was a slave for a very long time, doing whatever she was told, cleaning, travelling, and fighting. Much of it very dangerous. She had to adapt quickly or she would've been killed. Fortunately for her Genma, Ranma's father, had been teaching Ranma the Art since he was four. When Ranma fell into the cursed spring, Ranko was created and separated; she was abandoned to protect Ranma's manliness. Mrs. Saotome had some deal with Genma that Ranma would grow to be a man amongst men or they would commit seppuku. Getting back to Ranko, she lived in the village for a long time until she was old enough to be allowed to wander for days outside of the village. She met other masters of the art to train with, enemies to fight, and few friends. Ukyo and Ryouga was a young couple she met in Hokkaido; you'll probably meet them later since they are her friends. So one day, almost a year ago, some people from NERV show up in her village and ask for her to become an Eva pilot. Cologne agrees and sends her to walk to China to give her time to focus on her destiny. That's about where Ranko came into my life. She saves me the trouble of having to deal with my 'fan club' and turns Kuno into a blubbering idiot. The fool is still fixated on her and hasn't bothered me in a while. I wonder if she still has that leather book. If you ask her about it she might show it to you. It was sort of a diary and a notebook on martial arts. Has she shown you girls all the wonderful things she can do with her ki?" They shook their heads, listening intently to everything Akane had to say. "Well, maybe she will after this fight if she isn't too exhausted. I don't want to spoil the surprise for you." Akane smiled when the girls complained, but watched the fight without answering their questions.

The fight had been progressing well. Ranma and Ranko were ready to move on to Ranma's max power. Ranko stood to one side of the courtyard, a tear in her shirt across the belly and a little dirt on her face. Ranma was a bit worse off; tears along his shirt and pants in various spots, dirt and bruises covering his face, and his hair untidy. Ranma was panting fairly hard, but continued to face off with Ranko.

"Are you ready, Ranma?" He nodded. Ranko screamed to excite her body and increase the power output. Ordinarily, a crater caused by the shear magnitude of her aura would have formed in the ground, but thanks to Skuld's invention, the only reaction to her aura was some wind and a hole in the cloud coverage.

Ranma roared, his body gaining in muscle mass to accommodate the extra power he was getting. Things would be getting very interesting now. At his full power, Ranma was planning on showing off all his new techniques to Ranko. If he timed it just right, he might be able to take her off guard and win, that would be a first.

Ranko waited for Ranma to finish powering up. This had been the best fight she had had in a long time. Goddesses just didn't have the heart for a real fight so she turned it into a game of tag with them. Ranma could do some real give and take. It was nice to know she hadn't lost anything. Ranma set off with a ki powered foot slide, trying to kick her in the ankle and knock her down. Ranko took to the sky and threw a Mouko Takabisha at the passing boy.

Ranma backhanded the energy blast and jumped into the air. He'd seen this in a video game. When Akane had asked he said an old master taught it to him. "Tatsuryuken!" He spun like a top in the air, one leg extended. Ranma made thirty revolutions before he finished; Ranko stood on his head.

"Oh give me a break. Don't tell me you're stealing moves from video games now." Ranma laughed and lunged upwards to exchange ki powered blows with Ranko. Ranko watched closely for Ranma to give her a new attack to defend against. The last one, though stolen had some definite use against someone trapped to fighting on the ground.

Ranma started using more kicks to get Ranko's attention off his hands, forging the ki there into tools. After four quick kicks he was done. Ranma slashed out at Ranko with his right hand, she avoided it narrowly from striking her in the midsection.

"Very clever, Ranma." Ranko watched his hands a moment. They were not covered with ki any longer. Instead the ki had been manipulated into an energy blade, extending outwards from his knuckles. "Does that leave your hand unprotected?" She moved quickly, deflecting a blow to her body with a ki protected arm, and jabbed at one hand with her fingers.

Ranma cried in pain and grabbed his wrist, the ki blades dissipating in the air. His right hand throbbed and wouldn't move. Ranko had pressed hard on a nerve point that left his hand completely numb and immobile. The effects would only last a minute at the most as he recalled, but it was going to be a long minute.

Ranko thought to move in and press her advantage with some hand to hand combat, but ended up dodging ki blasts from Ranma. She watched him form a Mouko Takabisha then split it up into thousands of smaller blasts by forcing his hands into the blast. She set herself up and waited until the blasts were close enough. "Kachuu Tenchin AMAGURIKEN!"

Her hands flew at blinding speeds, breaking the sound barrier so often everyone had to cover their ears to protect themselves from the sonic booms. Ranko had blocked and sent each of the blasts right back at Ranma who was now on the defensive. 

Ranma was hit by his own blasts repeatedly. They weren't that powerful on their own, but enough of them hit to send him flying into the branches of a nearby tree. He came out with scratches and twigs stuck in his hair. Ranko was moving again, but he wanted to continue the light show and set up another ki blast.

"KIJIN RAISHUU DAN!"

Ranko had been planning on blocking the blast and maybe breaking through it to keep the pressure on Ranma. She was taken by surprise when the blast hit but didn't cause pressure or pain. It wasn't blue like the Mouko Takabisha, this was like a pearl with red electricity shooting through it. She was caught in its corridor as the blast went over her. She couldn't breath. Ranko reached up to her neck, gulping for any air, but could find none. Her body felt like it was going to explode at the same time. Her limbs wanted to tear away from their sockets and fly off into space. 

The blast past Ranko completely and Ranma watched the girl fall to the ground and onto her knees, gasping for breath. He wasn't going to keep after her in case she was really hurt, but he was positive she would be fine. 

Ranko indeed stood up and faced Ranma floating above the trees. She floated back up into the air, waving her hands in wide arcs that swept her entire body, leaving a blue ki trail in their wake. When Ranko was finished, she had a large disk of spinning, blue energy in front of her. Ranma tried throwing his own blasts at it, but they were deflected easily. Ranko raised her right hand, the disk following her instructions and rising into the air to rest flatly in her palm.

Ranma watched wide-eyed as the disk continued to spin menacingly. Ranko smiled at him and quickly dropped her hand. The disk flew at him with great speed, sawing through treetops like they weren't there. Ranma took off at top speed to evade the attack, twisting and turning as he went. The disk stayed on his tail though. Ranma was getting peeved and headed straight into the sun to blind Ranko. Out of sight, he touched his forehead and vanished.

Ranko continued to follow Ranma with the energy disk into the sun. Hiding there wouldn't do him any good. Once he left the sun's path she would be after him again. Ranko suddenly plummeted to the ground after being hit in the back with Ranma's elbow. How did he get behind her? She hadn't seen him mo . . . the teleportation trick. She laughed at herself for falling for the trap. Time to get even.

"Well Ranko? Still think you can beat me? I've become quite a bit more powerful since the last time. Maybe you should just give in." Ranma spoke cockily, floating in the air above her.

"There is still much for me to teach you, grasshopper." Ranko looked up at Ranma and flared her aura until it reached well into the sky, throwing Ranma to the ground a few hundred feet from her. Watching him carefully, Ranko screamed and brought her full power to bear. Blue light faded into her body to return a moment later, crackling with a very real golden core. "Mouko"

Ranma stood up and gawked at Ranko's increased power.

"Taka"

His arms came together in front of his face as he formed a ki shield to protect him from Ranko's next blast. This was going to hurt.

"BISHA!!"

The blue ball was as tall as the trees, breaking through Skuld's perimeter in the field and forming a trench in the blast's wake. Ranma skidded backward a couple of yards before the magnitude of the blast became overwhelming and enveloped him. The resulting blast held Ranma a few feet off the air where he had been standing, as it pounded him from all directions with energy. When it was all over, Ranma was lying in a crater ten feet in diameter, unconscious.

The dust settled after a few minutes to reveal Ranma's burnt and broken body lying at the bottom of the crater, half buried under the dirt. Ranko was very glad to see how strong Ranma had gotten. He still stood little chance of actually beating her. Ranko had been going soft on Ranma, not pressing the attack as hard as she could. She could tell Ranma was going full out towards the end though. 'Give him another year and he'll be ready.' Ranko smiled and picked up the boy, floating back over to the group by the house.

Akane had a look of mild amusement and a little concern for Ranma, lying limply in Ranko's arm. 'They don't have to finish their fights like this, but Ranko can take care of him for me. It would serve him right if he got brain trauma from the way they fight.' She watched Ranko set Ranma on the ground. The redhead was breathing a little harder and there was some sweat rolling down her forehead, but not much. The customary white glow accompanied Ranko's ministrations over Ranma's prone form, taking his head in her hands. The glow was soft enough that they didn't have to turn away from it but only just. After a moments work, Ranko collapsed onto her butt, holding herself up by her hands. Ranma was healed, the wounds gone and the tears in his clothes fairly mended. "You missed a spot." Akane indicated a tear on his shirt just below his right arm.

Ranko looked over and smiled at the joke, but she extended her finger anyway and mended the tear with a little concentration. The Goddesses were kneeling around their mother and the sleeping Ranma. They were looking back and forth between the healed boy and their mother. Until a moment ago, the Goddesses thought only those from Heaven could perform such healing magic. True, Ranko was a Guardian, but that meant little in the ways of power.

"Perfect." Ranko noted and promptly fell onto her back, breathing much heavier and staring up at the sky. "Hey, Skuld. I think there's something wrong with your machine."

"Huh?" Skuld was still busy looking over Ranma and examining the energy Ranko had used to heal him. She put the tricorder away and sat beside her mother. The tricorder was an invention of hers copied from a Star Trek episode she watched on her mother's TV a while ago.

"I think you'll find a large hole in the ground that way that the machine of yours couldn't prevent."

"That's impossible." Skuld stood up to get a better look of the direction Ranko had indicated. "The Field Dispersal and Suspension Generator has enough capacity too . . . wow." Skuld blinked a few times before landing soundly on her posterior, at a complete lack for words. 

Ranko patter her on the knee, the only part she could reach from her current position. "Urd, Bellandy, could you do me a favor and take Ranma-" The cellular phone on the patio table suddenly rang. Ranko cursed under her breath and tried to stand up, doing so very slowly. Akane handed her the phone since it was right next to her. "What's up?"

There was a short pause. Everyone could hear a hysterical woman on the other side of the line, but couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Are you sure you weren't just picking up my power signature." Ranko recalled her ki ball penetrating Skuld's shield generator, it would only make sense that NERV picked up on something that powerful. Misato made a good point that no one else could here. "Uhm, no, right now none of us is using our ki." Ranko nodded her head and giving Misato the affirmative then hung up. "Shit."

"What's wrong mom?" Bellandy stood up, worry evident in her eyes.

Ranko stared at the girl for moment then walked out into the courtyard, staring up in the sky. "An Angel must have tracked my power signature. There's one up there coming down on an intercept course with the temple."

"What can we do?"

"Nothing." Ranko turned around to look at her friends. "Girls, please take Ranma and Akane away from here, they are too weak to defend themselves against an Angel and the way they've been increasing in strength, things may get dangerous."

Skuld got under one of Akane's arms and help her to her feet. "What about you, mom?"

Ranko posed dramatically for her family and winked. "Don't worry. I am the greatest martial artist in the world."

Skuld smiled at her mother's attempt at brightening the mood. But they all knew Ranko was very weak after using a great deal of her ki to heal Ranma. Urd and Bellandy picked up Ranma and carried him through the temple after Akane. Another minute and Ranko could hear the temple gates open and close. 

'I hope they can get far enough away. I'm not sure I can hold an Angel back without the Eva's help in this condition.' Ranko got a vision of the last Angel and how powerful it had been. It held its own AT field like the others, but his was much stronger, taking several ki blasts to bring it down. Even then the Angel hadn't gone down before destroying a few city blocks in Kyoto.

There was a glimmer in the sky where Angel-8 was making its way into the atmosphere. Misato had told her Rei and Shinji were already at NERV and would be at the temple in their Evas in a couple of minutes. Hopefully, Ranko could hold out against an Angel for those couple of minutes. Her hands balled up into fists and she screamed long and hard, forcing herself to build up a sparkling blue aura to prepare herself for a fierce battle.

The Angel landed near the lake, steam rising from the water that had been flash boiled. It was a red bird like creature. It had six arms that could fold into wings and a black core in the center of its chest. Flexing its wings, the Angel got ready to bound into the temple courtyard where Ranko stood, bristling with energy.

"C'mon you ugly piece of shit."

The Angel jumped into the air, making an arc in the sky headed for a spot a dozen meters in front of Ranko. She didn't give it the chance to get its footing.

"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!"

Ranko's hand came down to a point on the ground, hitting a breaking point that sent large chunks of rock and dirt flying at the Angel while splitting open the ground enough to knock it off its feet. She didn't stop there, moving quickly to cover the distance between them. Ranko landed on the Angel's thigh and ran for its mid section, hoping to get to the core. The AT field suddenly pressed itself, however, knocking her to the ground at the Angel's feet.

Ranko backflipped out of the way of the Angel's swinging foot and took a fighting stance another twenty meters away from the creature. Red beams started firing out of the creature's eyes. She didn't know what they would do to her, but she wouldn't dare chance it. The Angels have always been harbingers of death, no reason for things to change now. 

Leaping from tree branch to tree branch, Ranko set up a Mouko Takabisha to wear down the Angel's AT field. She rounded another branch, swinging underneath with one hand and landing on the ground to avoid another red blast. The blue ki blast struck the Angel dead on in the chest, but the AT field prevented any real damage. 'Shit, I need more power if I'm gonna last against this beast. That last one sapped a lot of my energy.'

Becoming frustrated with its inability to hit Ranko with the red energy blasts, the Angel stepped in closer and began swinging with the six deadly arms. Ranko left the trees to the courtyard where she could dodge the strikes easier. Leaping and ducking under the blows would only work for so long berfore . . . Ranko pulled herself off the ground below a tree she had been hit into. Her eyes snapped open again as she saw another strike coming in to sever her head.

Ranko took to the sky and dropped another Mouko Takabisha onto the AT field. The force of the blast pushed the Angel back a couple of steps. She hit it again after dodging another couple of red energy blasts. "Would you stop that! It's bugging the hell outta me!" The blue energy grew in size and sped across the sky to hit the Angel in the stomach, breaking the AT field and forcing the monster to double over.

Ranko landed, a lopsided grin on her face. She looked up into the sky; her backup would be another minute or so out. This was no time to gloat. The AT field might be down but the Angel is no less dangerous, it might even be angrier. It was.

The Angel swung its lower body to bring itself onto its knees facing Ranko. With a push from its legs, the Angel was suddenly boring down on the redhead, dropping very powerful strikes into the ground around the nimble victim. A satisfied roar came to the Angel's throat as it struck Ranko, knocking her six feet into the ground. The arm holding her down started to rotate, trying to grind her further into the ground.

Ranko had taken the hit in her shoulder. She could feel the collar bone snap. The shoulder blade wouldn't be far behind. Ranko screamed but could do nothing to remove the pressure, her strength gone after dodging the Angel's strikes and finally getting hit. The weight suddenly lifted from her shoulder, but Ranko could not move. A red light enveloped her body, causing a much more real paralysis.

It was in her mind. Ranko could feel the alien presence searching her mind, learning her secrets. 'No, goddamn it. Get out of my head!' The Angel persisted and Ranko saw visions of cats and dark pits, the Nekoken. She saw poles sticking out of springs and an Amazon village nearby. Each vision was amplified in her mind, exciting more fear than she had ever felt in her life. Ranko cried out in terror, screaming profanities and promises of revenge at the Angel. The presence didn't leave. Ranko saw all of her worst memories playing over in her mind, but she could also feel the Angel searching her mind even further, into depths of her memory that had been locked even from her.

Ranko screamed over and over again, imagining herself being impaled against pikes, tied up in barbed wire, beaten within an inch of her life, and then running through those memories all over again. The screams were cracked and harsh. She hadn't stopped since the red light had struck her.

"Get the hell AWAY FROM HER!!!"

The red light faded, the presence ripped out of her mind, and Ranko was left exhausted and only slightly conscious in the impact crater. Two Evas came over the tree line firing their rifles. Rei and Shinji kept a good two hundred feet between them so the Angel couldn't attack them at the same time. The bullets pushed it down, but didn't cause much more damage. Most of the shots were bouncing harmlessly off the Angel's armor and ricocheting into the forest. They would be running out of bullets very soon.

The Angel blocked its core and got up to its feet. The bullets were little more that a nuisance now that the surprise was gone. Slashing one of its arms in the air, the Angel let loose a dozen sharp 'feathers', striking the Evas.

Rei and Shinji fell to their knees, each cradling a sharp spine protruding from their guts. The objects had moved to fast for them to dodge. Shinji had managed to recover quickest but the Angel was on top of him as soon as he moved his arm. He brought his left arm up to block the strikes and formed an energy blade in his right. Shinji swung, hoping to get the Angel under the arm and slice up into the core. His arm was caught however. There was a pressure on his arm as he felt something slip onto the blade. Shinji looked up when he heard Rei's cry over the com.

The Angel held Shinji by the wrist, using the energy weapon to stab Rei through the chest. Releasing Shinji's wrist, the Angel reared its arm back and struck Eva 001 in the head, creating another deep impact crater.

The two Evas fell to the ground around the Angel, bleeding and/or unconscious. Angel-8 stood up from the small battle and headed over to where it had left Ranko. The smaller crater she lay in was a few hundred feet away. The Angel saw a small hand reach over the lip of the crater and pull a small redhead onto level ground.

Ranko couldn't use her left arm so the going was slow. When she finally made it out of the crater she saw the Angel walking back towards her, the two Evas down. She cursed herself for failing them, but got a look of fury on her face to match the fire in her eyes. Ranko drew herself up on her feet, squaring off with the Angel.

"No one hurts my friends, Angel! SUN POWER, MAKE UP!" The Henshin rod appeared in her raised hand as Ranko was suddenly enveloped in a golden light. She floated down to the ground when the transformation had finished, a golden staff in her hands. Her outward wounds had healed and her broken collarbone was quickly on its way to being mended by her Sailor powers. Ranko reached over to the staff with her left hand stiffly and removed the sword from its scabbard, holding it in her good arm. "You are dead already, beast of darkness. My light shall banish you and your brethren from this plane of existence."

The Angel didn't back down, but charged Sailor Sun while flinging its sharp spikes and blasting away with red beams of energy.

A wall of fire stood between Sailor Sun and the Angel's assault. Her sword raised at eye level, she rushed to meet the Angel head on. It was over in a second. Sailor Sun stood fifty meters past the motionless Angel, her sword being slipped back into its scabbard. In the background, Angel-8 split in half due to a diagonal cut from its shoulder and opposite hip. Sailor Sun didn't turn around, she just listened to the satisfying thunk of two bloody halves dropping to the ground. She had made sure to cut through the core in the center of the Angel's chest; there would be no mistakes this time.

Ranko reemerged from beneath the Sailor Sun disguise as the sailor fuku transformed back into the clothes she had been wearing. Falling to her knees once again, Ranko let herself roll onto her side and into unconsciousness, a thankful smile on her lips.

The silence was terrible. Skuld didn't know what to make of it. She had helped Akane down the block and was now resting at the bus stop with her sisters and Ranma. Up the block, she had seen a violent battle take place. Ranko fought by herself for a couple minutes despite being completely exhausted after her match with Ranma. Skuld had been terrified when she heard her mother scream in great anguish. Her sisters had held her back despite her struggling. The Evas had arrived then and the battle continued, but not for long. The Evas were taken out quickly and there was sound of body crunching. After that, there was one last scream of anger and then silence. Tears ran down her cheeks, Skuld feared the worse.

Ranma suddenly gasped and sat up on the bench. Bellandy and Urd who had been sitting next to him jumped in shock.

"Goodness, Ranma. You scared us half to death, jumping up like that. What's wrong?" Bellandy watched Ranma. He was staring blankly into the horizon.

"She's alive, Ranma." Akane understood his concern. With the merging, Ranko and he had become bound spiritually. He knew when she was hurt and vice versa. Akane had been concentrating the entire time on Ranko's ki level. It had continued to drop during the battle and suddenly vanished when the Angel had dealt with the Evas. Her aura was back now. It was faint, but steady.

"I'll be back." Ranma jumped to his feet and vanished from sight in an instant.

It was ten minutes before anything moved on the temple grounds again. Eva 001 stood up, a large gash in its side. The Eva scanned the area to get the full casualty count. Rei was down and the cut in her Eva was pretty bad, but he heard over coms that Rei herself was fine now that they cut the nerve simulators. The Eva would take a few days to patch up, nothing they haven't done before. Nearby, Shinji saw Ranko lying on the ground, curled up and asleep. The temple was far out of town, which he was thankful for, so there was no one around for miles to get hurt . . . check that, Shinji picked up power signatures, very faint, coming from the North, about a half mile away. Opening up a link to ops, Shinji gave them the all clear and informed them of the bystanders. Misato answered, they would be here in fifteen minutes.

Shinji sat down, trying not to aggravate the wound in his side too much, and wondered how the Angel had been killed. It had been sliced in half. It hadn't been him; the Angel had knocked him unconscious. It might've been Rei, using her own energy blade; it would make the same type of cut if she got close enough. Shinji wouldn't put anything past Ranko though. She had proven time and again how capable she was even without her Eva. Shinji was particularly thankful for her classes. If it weren't for Ranko's training, the deadly 'feathers' would've hit the Evas in the core, as the Angel had intended. That would have killed the Evas and the pilots. Only their reflexes, honed by Ranko's Anything Goes style, saved their lives.

Shinji nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw a young Japanese man in Chinese clothing appear at his Eva's feet. "Damn, Ranma! You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Ranma turned around to see who had talked to him. "Oh hi, Shinji. How have you been? It's been a while."

"I'm fine. How did you do that?"

Ranma looked up from Ranko's body, she seemed unhurt. "Hmm? Oh, just a trick I picked up. Are you and Rei alright?"

The Eva's head nodded. "Rei is unconscious, but she'll be fine. I've just got a headache and a sore spot in my stomach. Are you back, Ranma?"

Letting out a deep breath, Ranma picked Ranko up and carried her into the house and set her on the couch. Coming back out, Ranma stared at the Angel, a green fluid dripping out of its severed halves. "I'm gonna go get Akane." Ranma disappeared.

Shinji sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for the EVAC team to come and get him.

The Goddesses were waiting for Ranma when he returned. "Where's Akane?"

"A NERV rescue team came by and took her to make sure she was in good health. Did you see Ranko?" Bellandy inquired. 

Ranma nodded and looked up the street to where Bellandy had pointed out the NERV vehicle that picked up Akane. It was heading for the temple to pick up anyone else that might be injured. Ranma remembered the expert doctors who rode in the rescue van. 

"Grab a hold of me and I'll take you back to the temple." The Goddesses complied, each grabbing him by a shoulder or around an arm. The four disappeared. Ranma had practiced multiple transportation before and found it tiring but not too difficult. His first few attempts, Ranma had lost concentration and Akane and himself ended up in the koi pond rather than their bedroom as he had been planning. Ranma found he could travel some pretty impressive distances, so he practiced by taking Kasumi to the market and dropping Nabiki off at college in Tokyo University.

They appeared in the courtyard in front of Shinji again. The Eva didn't jump this time, Ranma figured Shinji was asleep and didn't bother him. The Goddesses were a little frightened by the Eva, but gave it no more attention when they heard Ranko moan from the house.

Ranko walked out of the house, suddenly tackled by her daughters. "Hey, hey, calm down. It was nothing I couldn't handle."

"Oh, momma. I was so scared when I heard you screaming. I thought it was hurting you real bad or something." Skuld cried as she hugged Ranko tightly around the waist.

"I'm fine, Skuld-chan." Ranko yawned and stretched her arms over her head. "But I am a bit tired after using all that energy. How is everyone else?"

Ranma walked into the house. "Rei and Shinji will be fine in a couple of hours once the phantom pains recede. Some doctors are looking over Akane to make sure the 'trauma' of seeing an Angel didn't affect the child."

Ranko nodded and yawned once again.

Some paramedics and a few technicians ran through the temple and into the courtyard to take care of Rei and Shinji. Misato and Ritsuko walked in after them at a more leisurely pace. They stopped in front of Ranko, Misato kept her eyes on the ground.

"I knew it would be a waste of time to send Rei and Shinji to help you." Ritsuko joked and gave Ranko a smile. 

Ranko nodded and looked at Misato. "Captain Katsuragi?"

Misato didn't look up, but shuffled uncomfortably in front of Ranko and Ranma. "Sorry, I just came to make sure you kids were alright. I'll leave now."

"No you don't." Ranko reached out and grabbed the woman by her arm and made her face them. "You never apologized to Ranma and Akane. Now would be a good time."

"But I-"

"Look, Misato, you aren't a bad person and they know that. They may surprise you and forgive you." 

Misato nodded and turned her head to Ranma, continuing to stare at the floor. "Saotome-san, I'm very s-sorry about what I did six months ago. I hope you can forgive me."

"It's not my forgiveness you should hope for, Misato. It's Akane's. But I accept your apology." Ranma responded evenly. He had forgiven Misato a long time ago because he wasn't the type of person to hold grudges, but he would also comply with Akane's feelings on the matter since it had involved her. "Let me take you to her. I think she is sitting in the med-van."

Misato nodded and followed him out the front.

"What did she do to Akane?" Skuld asked Ranko.

"It was a foolish mistake, that's all." Ranko turned to Ritsuko who had watched the proceedings silently. "Dr. Akagi, you remember Bellandy, Urd, and Skuld, don't you?"

Ritsuko smiled and bowed to the girls. "Of course, how are you girls doing? Still visiting your cousin?"

"No." They answered collectively. 

Ranko smacked herself in the head. Her daughter's inability to lie was a little bothersome sometimes.

"You aren't visiting?"

"Uhm, that's right." Ranko said quickly. "They're living with me now. It got lonesome, y'know."

"Oh? Well, that's nice."

"Are you going to stay for the birthday party, Dr. Akagi?" Bellandy asked sweetly.

"Party? Who's birthday is it?"

"It's mo-Ranko's." Bellandy recovered quite well after almost slipping up, and she didn't even have to lie!

"I'd love to. Ranko, I thought you didn't know when your birthday was?"

"Uhm . . . we sort of figured it out just today. Since Ranma and I are twins and all. Hehe."

"Oh, so this party is for the two of you?"

"Not really. Our families celebrated his birthday a few days ago. We are just doing mine a little later because no one could get up here." 

"Well," Ritsuko began with a smile. "you realize now that the word is out, everyone in NERV is gonna celebrate with you. Most everyone you met down there absolutely adores you." Ritsuko winked and waved goodbye as she walked out the back door to check on the other Eva pilots.

Ranko's shoulders sagged a little. "I better get to bed or I'm not gonna be awake for this party."

The girls laughed and helped their mother to her bedroom. Ranko promptly fell asleep as soon as she felt the pillow beneath her. She lay sprawled in the bed, snoring loudly and pulling the bedsheets out of place. Bellandy closed the door behind her as she and Urd left the room. Skuld stayed behind, suddenly tired herself, and curled up on the bed beside her mother.

"Well, looks like we've got a party to prepare for." Bellandy commented for Urd's benefit.

"Gee, and I've got nothing to wear." Urd looked down at her skimpy outfit and frowned.

"Yes, that's usually the case, isn't it?"

Ranko woke up in her room some five hours later. It was around four in the evening, there was still some light out, the sky was starting to turn red. Ranko stared out of her window, pulling her mind together from the chaos her life had been for the past couple of weeks. The dress she wore was the latest in fashion in Tokyo-3. It had been a while since Ranko had dressed up and after today, there was a certain need. Her dress was conservative, embroidered along the bodice with dragons before a scenic mountain range. It was a little overboard, Ranko thought, but her girls thought it was beautiful. It came with a light red jacket, matching her hair, and gave her outfit another dimension. 

When she woke up, Skuld was still hanging off of her. They worked on new hairstyles for each other for a half-hour and Ranko taught Skuld how to use make up. It was on of those satisfying moments in her life, when she felt nothing but love and a need to care for her family. All without the memory of birthing pains.

Something had happened to Ranko during the fight with the Angel. When the red beam had struck her, the creature began opening her memories for information. She didn't know why it was attacking her in such a way, but it made her uncomfortable to know someone else has seen her thoughts. Of course, Bellandy had done it, but she was her daughter. The memories had come to Ranko in her sleep, seeping into her consciousness slowly, like she was watching them in a movie theater. 

"Mom, are you ready? People are starting to arrive."

"Yes, Urd-chan. I'll be down in just a moment." Ranko turned around and fastened on her necklace that matched her clip-on earrings. That was something else that had been steadily changing since Ranko met her daughter again. Her mannerisms, speech, and now her choice in clothing; was nothing sacred? Ranko still like to wear her Chinese clothes. 

"Hey, is everything alright?" Urd closed the door for privacy and hugged her mother from behind. Ranko was a head shorter than her so she had to lean over to rest her head on Ranko's shoulder. Urd thought her mother was a very beautiful woman even if she was in her younger body at the moment. She blew a strand of red hair out of her face. Ranko had it done up in a bun at the back of her head while two long strands hung low behind her ears.

"I'm good. I just can't help feel so old all of a sudden."

Urd gave her a once over then smiled. "Mom, if this is old, I can't wait to catch up with you. I can definitely see where I got my ravishing good looks."

"That's not what I mean." Rank patted Urd's hand that was crossed in front of her collar. "This afternoon after the fight with the Angel, I got tired. I don't usually get so tired after using so much energy in a battle. Normally I would just sit down a while and let my body recover enough to carry me to the kitchen or something, not sleep."

"So what happened this time?"

"I don't know. I could feel the Angel probing my mind, searching through my memories. I can't see them, but I feel them taking shape in mind, trying to surface and show me what I've forgotten. Each time I try to focus, they slip through my grasp, all except for the feelings. Age, loneliness, joy, grief, love, I feel all these things and yet . . . I don't."

Urd strummed her fingers on Ranko's collarbone, unsure of how to make her mother feel any better. "Maybe you should just forget about it for now. Let it come to you in its own time. Until then, just be content to make new memories with you loving family. And don't give up on dad. The two of you were quite a pair, I'm sure he is still out there somewhere, searching for his love. For now, let's party!"

Ranko smiled and kissed Urd on the cheek. She turned to follow her daughter out of the room. Urd was wearing a shiny leather halter top and a matching micro skirt. "Urd, dear, we really should talk about your fashion statement."

When Ritsuko said big party, she wasn't kidding. It was now eight o'clock and there were over fifty people in attendance. Many were NERV employees, including Commander Gendou who normally didn't make it to any social occasions. There were also children from the high school where she taught. The last bunch of people was her family; Akane, Ranma, Nodoka, and Kasumi. Ranma had gone back to Nerima to bring everyone else along, but Nabiki had a date and was no where to be seen and Soun was forever involved in his game of Go with a large panda bear. Kasumi and Nodoka were, of course, eager to see Ranko and have a big party. They came by while Ranko was asleep and helped with the party preparations, which were phenomenal.

The courtyard was strung up with glowing lanterns. NERV people had come in with a number of tables and chairs. Some of the chefs from local restaurants had been hired to make a large banquet and one enormous cake, colored with white frosting and lined with red sugar. Soft jazz was playing through people's ears, thanks to a small band set up to one side of the courtyard. 

The house was no less empty with people milling about the living room and retrieving drinks from the kitchen for their dates. Yes, this birthday had spawned fifteen dates, five steady relationships, and one marriage proposal. Ranko supposed the same could've been done at any party with enough alcohol.

Ranko was in the middle of exchanging pleasantries with Akira, a boy from her class, and Ritsuko. She thought it funny at first, but most of the boys had come to the party wearing formal kimonos or the occasional tux. The girls had worn all their own best dresses or kimono's as well. Akane had tried her best to find her own attractive dress for the evening, but settled for a blue cotton dress that rather showed off her pregnant belly. Though it seemed not to bother her as everyone was congratulating her on her marriage and wishing her a big happy family. Ranma stayed close to Akane's side in case she needed anything. He wore his usual Chinese outfit, but changed into a new pair of black slacks and a shimmering blue silk shirt, bringing attention to his deep blue eyes.

The big moment finally came. Nodoka, Kasumi, and a couple of chefs came out of the house bearing the large white cake, setting it down on the long table at the end of the courtyard. Nodoka pulled her aside from her conversation to stand before the cake, which came up to Ranko's chin from its place on the low table. That is a four-foot cake, Ranko thought.

Nodoka started the presentation. "Can I get everyone's attention." She didn't have to raise her voice much as everyone seemed to quiet down quickly in front of a woman that carried a katana with her everywhere she went. "I'd first like to thank all of you for coming tonight. It is a real pleasure to see my daughter has so many people who care for her. I've not known my Ranko for very long. We were separated for many years and, though we may not have known it, we've spent all our time apart thinking about each other. This is the first time I have celebrated Ranko's birthday and I look forward to many more such occasions. Happy Birthday Ranko!"

Everyone followed Nodoka's prompting and raised their glasses as they sang 'Happy Birthday'. It ended with an overwhelming cheer from the crowd. During the song, the chefs had been attempting to finish lighting all the candles, but there were just so many. One of them had asked Bellandy to put on as many candles as Ranko had years. It had been a rough guess, but she had put on four thousand of the wax sticks. That is to say, the cake looked like it was on fire. Ranko looked up and saw them trying to finish the candles off and shook her head, amused at her daughters' truthfulness.

"Excuse me." Ranko patted the chef's arm. He stepped away and allowed Ranko to look at the cake. She held her palms together before her chest, facing the crowd. A yellow glow formed there and she lifted her hands above her head in a big V. A ring of fire danced around the edges of the cake, lighting each of the lower candles and slowly working its way up until it was nothing but a small flame to light the last wick on the top layer.

The crowd applauded again.

Ranko stared out into the crowd, scanning the audience. "I don't suppose I could get some help from my family?" 

Ranma, Akane, Kasumi, Nodoka, and the Goddesses stepped up to the table and with one collectively deep breath they blew on the cake from all angles, extinguishing all the candles with a little help from Ranko's ki. Everyone exclaimed a cry of joy and the band started up once again. 

A caterer sliced off a piece from the top and handed it to Ranko. In a secretive tone, the boy asked Skuld, "Just how old is she anyway"?

Not one to lie, and lying about her mother's age would be a big one, Skuld replied, "About four thousand we believe."

The caterer assumed it was a joke and laughed while cutting up some more pieces for the guests.

Ranko sidled over to Skuld and hip checked her softly. "You didn't have to tell him that."

"If I hadn't, I would've used up my lying quota with one blow." Ranko colored and got a kiss on her cheek from Skuld before she left to get a drink.

"Hey, Ranko!" Akane cried out to her from a dark area in the courtyard. "We've got a surprise for you." 

Ranko was about to ask what, but was cut off when Ranma started to fire strange, color-modulating ki bursts into the air.

"Kiworks." Urd marveled as she watched the energy burst into a dazzling light display.

"Your brother really has a talent for learning things quick."

Ranko almost leapt out of her heels when she heard the voice behind her. She hadn't noticed anyone come up to her and sneaking up on her had been become a very impossible thing for anyone to do. The voice was very familiar, though she only heard it once before. Deep and soothing with a strong hint of wisdom, Ranko turned around to see the Almighty's earthly form.

She swooned at the sight. He was a head taller than her, broad chest and shoulders, bearing a definite muscle tone his red silk shirt could not hide. His features were true Japanese, smooth yet chiseled into a strong, handsome, young man's face. Short spiky black hair made him look like a fighter and a romantic all at once. Ranko was lost in his eyes, however. They were not one color, but seemed to be all of them at the same time. Staring into their depths, she could feel herself falling into a warm sunlight that could protect her and keep her safe.

"Oh, God."

He smiled down at her, displaying his perfect white teeth and charming grin. "You could say that." Bowing slightly to her and extending his right hand he asked, "May I have this dance?"

Ranko nodded and let herself be swept into his arms as they moved gracefully to a love song. They were the only ones dancing at that moment. The two made an extraordinary sight to behold as they glided around the courtyard, mainly due to God's usual magnificence that was around him wherever he went. 

The Goddesses had gasped in surprise and nearly dropped their plates when they saw who Ranko was dancing with. Being in his employment, they new his presence well and had come to understand his habits so far as they could be understood. In the millennia or more they had known him, this was the first time the Almighty had come to earth, smiled so warmly, and allowed himself to be touched by anyone in even the slightest way. Now here he was dancing with their mother. Ha, take that to your show-and-tell day at school and shove it.

The song eventually ended and God took a step back from the merry Ranko. "I must go now, but I would like to leave you with a gift." He leaned down and kissed Ranko firmly on the lips, holding her there for a moment.

Ranko would have lived a happy life if she had to die after this one kiss. She would hold onto him forever if she could, but her arms had lost all their strength from the power of his touch and could only rest at his hips.

"Happy Birthday, my love."

God slipped away from Ranko's embrace, floating up into the night sky and vanishing into one of the stars that shimmered in the heavens.

Needless to say, there was a number of people asking Ranko questions when the mysterious young man had vanished. Ranko said very little, only touching her lips and memorizing every perfect word he had said to her. People assumed the young man was an old boyfriend or lover of some sort and returned to their conversations or dance partners and continued their speculations. Many of the women were still enamored by the sight of the captivating young man and kept trying to pry a little information from the silent Ranko. They too gave up eventually.

It was getting to be near midnight when people started to say their good-byes to Ranko. Only a handful of people lingered on until one. The hired help had cleared out long ago, cleaning up much of the mess on the way. Kasumi and Nodoka had been returned to their homes with Ranma's help. All that remained awake were Bellandy, Urd, Ritsuko, Akane, and Ranko. Everyone else staying at the temple had fallen asleep after the long party.

"That was a wonderful party. I can't wait for your next birthday." Bellandy commented happily. Her quiet and reserved daughter had really opened up once the party got into full swing. She had danced with a number of men and young boys, as did her other daughters, and been asked out by a good number of them. She had politely turned down many of the dates, but kept some of the phone numbers. To be polite, Bellandy said.

"Careful sis. Talk like that and Ranko will be five thousand years old soon just as an excuse to have a party like that every night. I don't think you have the closet space for all the phone numbers you would accumulate from that and you seemed rather smitten with that Keichi boy." Urd jested and leaned back in her chair while sipping at a glass of wine.

"Well, we could alternate who's birthday it is and just continue to lie about our ages." Ritsuko suggested. Everyone laughed, not letting the thought linger because it was very tempting. "So, Ranko, are you going to tell us who that handsome young man was?"

Ranko gave her daughters a look to see if they knew, they did of course. She smiled and closed her eyes, imagining his face. "God knows." Ranko laughed inwardly as she saw Urd and Bellandy's expressions. Ritsuko and Akane didn't get it, but then they weren't supposed to.

"Still, he was quite a hunk and the two of you seemed to know each other pretty well." Akane prodded. She could tell Ranko was hiding something from her.

"Yes, I knew him a long time ago. We had something very special and I think that was his way of saying he would like to continue where we left off." The response did not go unwarranted by her daughters as they almost spit out the wine they had been sipping on. 

"Well then, what's his name and how special was it?" Ritsuko asked, leaning eagerly over the table for Ranko's answer. The others did much the same, abandoning their drinks so they could give Ranko their full attention.

Ranko smiled and took a sip from her glass. "We were very close. I may have lost some of my memory, but I can recall his kiss . . . very well. To me, he was my Mamoru-kun."

Urd and Bellandy fell over backwards in their seats, neither moving as they were too stunned by the revelation. This would explain why the Almighty had favored them with so much attention and why he had remained so solitary during his life while they served him.

"How romantic. You find a lost love on your birthday and he swoons you in a slow and intimate dance under the stars. I just-oh!" Akane was suddenly startled and rubbed her right hand over her belly.

"What's wrong?" Ranko asked, getting up from her seat.

Akane waved her down. "It's alright. I think my kid is practicing his kata. He's going to be a kicker that's for sure."

This was, of course, unbearable cute and everyone wanted to feel the baby's kick. Akane obliged and they all changed the subject to the child and the soon to be parents.

Ranko was ascending the stairs to her room in quiet reflection. She couldn't believe all of the things that have happened to her so recently. It was all one surprise after another, almost too fast for her to cope. There were regrets over lost opportunities and events the Ranko would like to redo, but everything seemed to be turning out pretty well in the end.

The night had been very long, dawn was already close with early morning rays peaking over the distant mountains. Ranko had some bags under her eyes and she was feeling a little lightheaded. Her gown was slightly crumpled from the last few hours of sitting and her hair was now falling out of position. All she could really concentrate on, though, was placing one foot in front of the other. Her youngest daughter thus took her unaware.

"Morning!"

Ranko fell to the floor with a thud as Skuld jumped into her arms. She was thankful her exhaustion had only led her so far up the stairs as she landed on her backside. Landing on the floor did remind her how tired she was and closed her eyes to relax somewhat.

"Morning, Skuld." Ranko returned with little enthusiasm and a yawn.

Having not noticed her mother's tired response, Skuld sat up on her mother's stomach and began to gleefully attack Ranko's exposed sides for a little tickle torture. Akane had wickedly informed the Goddesses of Ranko's greatest weakness. Not even the lack of sleep could cut down her mother's reactions to the stimulus any. "You stayed up awful late and made it hard for me to get any sleep! So you going to tell me what you guys were talking about or should I tickle you to death?!"

Ranko started to wiggle underneath the Goddess and brought her arms down to her sides for protection. Skuld wasn't to be stopped so easily, though, and Ranko was forced to stop her quickly. "Sorry, kiddo, but you're a few centuries too early to hold me down."

Skuld let out a cry of surprise as she landed on her back next to where her mother had been. Her hands were now secured under her back as Ranko rolled on top to keep her that way. "Aw, aren't you going to tell me what you and the Almighty were doing? Mom?" Skuld shook Ranko shoulder and got no response in return. Listening closely, she could hear the slow, deep breathing of someone fast asleep.

Thankfully Ranko wasn't bigger than Skuld and she was easily rolled off the Goddess with a little push. Skuld sighed and started to drag her mother to bed. Hopefully she wouldn't damage the beautiful dress. 

"Skuld?" Skuld dropped Ranko on the floor, again not a long trip. She hadn't been expecting to hear someone in the temple, especially not someone behind her. Everyone else should still be fast asleep. "Skuld, is something wrong with your mother?"

The voice was masculine, comforting and commanding at the same time. There could be only one person behind her, the very person Skuld had been asking about.

"Almighty!" Skuld spun on her heel to face him, Ranko forgotten on the floor. "I-I-wasn't . . I mean mom is . . . morning."

"Late night?" Mamoru took a few steps closer and checked Ranko with a quick sweep of his hand. He smiled slightly and picked the redhead up into his arms. "Still the same all-nighter I married."

"M-Married?"

Mamoru returned his gaze to the stupefied Goddess. He was still wearing the suave dress clothes from last night, looking as though it had just come out of the wash. "She didn't tell you?"

Skuld shook her head. "I went to bed an hour after you showed up."

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Instead Mamoru made his way past Skuld and up the stairs to Ranko's room. She was light but very comfortable in his arms, an old familiarity he had missed for over a millennia. As he watched, Ranko shifted in her sleep to grab him around the neck as if she knew he was there.

Skuld remained by the door as the Almighty gently laid Ranko on her bed and pulled the sheet over her body, causing the dress and undergarments to disappear once she was concealed. Ranko murmured something that even the Almighty had to lean over to hear.

"Mamoru." 

Leaning closer to her ear, he whispered back. "I'm here, my love." 

"I . . . miss you." Ranko began to shift, kicking the sheets a little and pulling her arms out of the covers and over her head.

"I've missed you, too." Mamoru restrained himself from kissing Ranko on the lips while she was asleep and pressed a kiss on her forehead instead. Ranko's arms encircled his neck again and pulled him further down until Mamoru had to hold himself up with his right arm. Her eyes were still closed as she kissed him gently, holding him in place with her arms.

Mamoru was about to disentangle himself when Ranko's eyes began to open with great effort. For a moment he was sure she was going to release him, but Ranko persisted and pulled him in for a deeper kiss, opening her mouth slightly.

Skuld blushed at the sight and excused herself. As much as she wanted to learn about their past, she decided to wait until they were both . . . ready.

Ranko let the kiss go after a minute to catch her breath. Looking up into Mamoru's surprised face, she suppressed a giggle and smiled lovingly back at him. "Hey there stranger. You stickin' around for a while?"

Mamoru smiled and nodded he would.

"Good." Grabbing his shoulders, Ranko rolled the handsome God over her body and into the space beside her. Mamoru began to protest, but Ranko's arms circling his body as she rolled on top of him kept him silent. "We've got some catching up to do." She smiled wickedly and kissed him once again, the bedsheets sliding off her naked form.

"I thought you were exhausted?"

"I am." Ranko snuggled in to the crook of his neck and lay there on top of him. "But it's nothing a God couldn't cure, I'm sure."

In much the same way he had removed her clothes, Mamoru swept his hand over Ranko's body, rejuvenating her body and even healing some old wounds. When he was finished, his hands came to rest on her sides, stroking the flesh beneath his fingers with longer gentle strokes.

Ranko purred from the attention and slowly began to unbutton Mamoru's shirt. "By the way."

"Hmm?" Mamoru stopped his movements to stare into Ranko's.

"Have I told you recently that I love you?"

He laughed lightly. The vibrations tingling Ranko's body as they passed through her. "Not for a long time."

"Well, I guess you're overdue for one." Leaning in closer she kissed him again. "I love you, Mamoru."

"I love you too, Ranko."

Skuld was still blushing by the time Ranma walked out of the master bedroom. He wore a muscle tanktop and a pair of his black Chinese slacks. His eyes were still half closed as he shuffled to the kitchen. "Morning, Skuld-chan."

The little girl didn't reply. Her attention was too drawn to the sounds of what was going on upstairs. Ranma stopped at the door to the kitchen to find out why she hadn't responded when he noticed her blushing.

"You okay?"

"What!" She pulled a book out of subspace and began flipping through its pages. "I wasn't doing anything! Just reading my book."

"Uh-huh." Ranma reached over and flipped the book right side up in Skuld's hands. "That might help." Deep feminine sounds vibrated through the ceiling overhead as Ranma was about to enter the kitchen. He stopped dead in his tracks and listened for it again. 'That sounded like it came from Ranko's room.' The moans repeated. Ranma, wide-eyed, gasped as he realized what was going on. 'That was Ranko!'

Skuld noticed his expression and as funny as it was she had been feeling the same way for the past hour. She hadn't even worked up the nerve to make breakfast in case she disturbed them.

"W-Was that . . . Ranko?!"

Skuld nodded and buried her face in the book. Just thinking about them was making her blush.

"Who?"

Skuld tried to hold back the blood rushing to her face, but found it to be a relentless foe. "The ah . . . the young man from last night."

Ranma nodded his understanding and started to walk back into the kitchen, keeping his tone even. "That's a hell of a way to start up a relationship again." Something suddenly occurred to Ranma as he dashed out of the kitchen, mixing bowl in hand. "Wait a minute! Isn't your dad still out there?!"

Skuld nodded again, only half listening to what Ranma said.

"Then we've got to stop her! She's cheating on her husband!"

Skuld shook her head clear of distraction as Ranma set the bowl down next to her and started off for the stairs. "No, Ranma, wait!" This would be the worst time for him to act without thinking again. Skuld ran over to the pigtailed boy, tackling him onto the stairs.

"Skuld, let go of me. We can't let this happen."

She clung to his leg as he made his slow ascent. "Ranma, that is my daddy!"

Suddenly, two Goddesses jumped out of their respective rooms, attempting to straighten their hair and flatten out the dresses they still wore. "Dad's here?! Where is he!?!"

A final moan pulsed through the temple from Ranko's room and then silence.

Skuld's blush was becoming contagious as each person in the hallway looked around for an interesting piece of floor to focus on.

Ranma spoke first. "I'm going to make breakfast." He made a hasty retreat downstairs and into the kitchen. From the bedroom, the Goddesses could her people talking softly and then . . . 

"We'll help!" The girls said in unison as the sound of lovemaking returned.

It was another hour before Akane got up. Fortunate, Ranma thought, or she might have tried to help cook. She sat at the table, admiring the great spread of food before her. Being pregnant made her feel like the bottomless pit Ranma was.

The Goddesses sat down and started some idle chatter with their uncle and his wife. Most of it was about the baby. To their surprise, Akane told them the child was due in another two weeks. The name had already chosen and the Goddesses had formed grins of insight, but refused to tell the couple what they knew about Saotome Goku. A name they would not soon forget.

"So how did the two of you meet?" Urd asked. She really wanted the dirty details, but it was best to start with something easy before she really pressed them.

"It was a dark and stormy night . . ." Akane curled her hands like she was telling a campfire story. The Goddesses took this as a joke and laughed at Ranma's scowl for Akane's tale.

"Geez, you fell in love with him the first week even after the jerk he was being?" Skuld had gotten into the mood and was ready to take her shot at Ranma. He stuck his tongue out at her, but lost balance from his seat when Akane craned her neck to take his tongue into her mouth. They laughed at Ranma's blush when he picked himself off the ground.

"Ranma you are so cute when you blush like that, and after all this time too." Akane teased as she grabbed him around the waist.

Ranma returned the hug and did his best to hide his embarrassment. "Well . . . I mean, uh, the girls are right across the table watching and all."

Akane turned her head, still resting on Ranma's chest, and examined the three on the other side of the table. "Hmm. So they are. C'mon Ranma, they are a hundred times older than us. I'm sure they've seen a lot more." The Goddesses looked at each other then back at Ranma and Akane. "What? You mean you haven't seen people like this?"

"Well," Bellandy began. "Except for Urd, we . . . no."

Akane let go of Ranma and bowed her head slightly. "Sorry if I embarrassed you."

"Nonsense." Urd replied. She enjoyed seeing the two lovers in action. Bellandy made it sound like she had been around the block a few times, but that wasn't true. Everyone assumes that someone who dresses in skimpy leather must be . . . experienced. "It's about time my sisters started thinking about some romantic involvement of their own. Having you two around will just push them a little more." Urd smiled wickedly at her blushing sisters, it was almost time.

"Push them for what, dear?"

Ranko stepped into the dining room; her Chinese clothing had been substituted for a sleeveless, blue, cotton dress and her hair pulled back into a ponytail that reached below her shoulders. Her skin seemed to glow, which worked well with the gleam in her eyes and the smile on her lips.

"Morning, Ranko. Looks like you slept well after all that partying last night." Ranma almost choked on his tea as Akane greeted Ranko. "Did that handsome lover of yours return last night?" Ranma choked fitfully this time.

Ranko seemed not to notice as she sat down at the table and started picking out her food. "Yeah, actually he did."

Akane perked up a bit more. "What did you two talk about?"

Ranko coughed gently into her hand as she swallowed a large piece of sausage. "We . . haven't gotten around to that yet." Akane was lost for the moment then Mamoru walked down the stairs, a fresh tunic and black slacks on. "Kami-sama, let me introduce Saotome Ranma and Akane." Ranko gestured with her free hand. Mamoru greeted them with a bow and sat down beside Ranko.

"Kami-sama? That's an unusual pet-name." Akane nudged Ranma in the ribs as soon as he was finished. She may not have known he was here, but it didn't take a genius to realize Ranko's mystery man was the real kami-sama. The proof was in the three Goddesses sitting at the table. Apparently it took someone smarter than Ranma. "Ow, what did you do that for?"

Akane bent over to whisper something in his ear. Ranma blinked a few times as understanding fluttered into his eyes. 

"Sorry."

"It's no problem, Ranma. I had to get used to it too. But you can call me Mamoru while I'm not in official capacity." He started putting food onto his own plate while Ranko poured him a glass of orange juice. "Thank you dear."

"You're welcome. Now then, I'm told that you never mentioned who you were to my daughters. You wanna explain that?"

Mamoru suddenly looked guilty and swallowed the food in his mouth. "When I became the Almighty, old programming was replaced with the super class. For a long time, I considered everyone my children. When I heard about Bellandy's discovery of her mother I became curious. Seeing your face brought all those memories back and my old personality. I never wanted to abandon you girls, but I had a duty to perform."

"That is alright, Your Holiness. We understand very well how busy you are. It's just good to have you back." Bellandy responded. Ranko noticed none of the girls were acting the way she had expected. There was no celebration or group hug and tearful reunion. This seemed very wrong, but she didn't want to bring it up in case she was wrong. Akane had noticed the same thing and a look of worry crossed her face.

"There is no need for formalities here, Bellandy. Neither one of us is really working at the moment."

"As you wish, Your Ho-sure." Bellandy bowed from her seat before returning her attention to her food.

There was a short silence, which everyone tried to fill with food.

"What did you mean, 'when you became the Almighty'. Isn't God supposed to be eternal?" The question had been nagging Ranma since Mamoru had begun his explanation. Akane wanted to know also, but jabbed Ranma in the ribs again for being so rude.

"God is eternal." Mamoru began. "The First created Heaven and Earth, expending a great deal of energy. His body died some billions of years ago, but he lives on in his children; animal, plant, and rock. He resides in all things. The position of God, however, is not. After the First, we elected the most worthy candidate to replace the God who passed. We have to make sure things continue to run smoothly." 

Ranma nodded his understanding and turned his attention to Ranko. "By the way, you couldn't tell us how old Ranko is, could you? Ow! You know, Akane, my sides are really starting to hurt when you do that."

"Then stop being such a baka." Akane hissed back. A fight was imminent, Ranko knew. Five, four, three, two . . . 

"Hey, is that breakfast?" Saved by the bell. Shinji and Rei walked around the corner and into the dining room.

"What are you two doing here?" Ranko asked, somewhat surprised.

"Shinji passed out on the couch and I decided to stay with him." Came Rei's short reply. Shinji was burning with embarrassment and stayed silent.

"Well why don't the two of you wash up. Ranma, can Shinji borrow some clothes?" He nodded. "Rei, you can grab something out of my closet. We are close to the same size. Breakfast will be waiting for you when you return."

"Thanks, Ranko." Shinji grabbed Rei by the hand and led her upstairs. Rei let her eyes linger on Mamoru for a moment before she followed.

Noticing the time, Ranma stood up and held his hand out for Akane. "We should get going. You've got an appointment with the doctor to get to."

"Doctor?" Skuld seemed worried.

"Just a check up, Skuld-chan" Akane smiled at the girl. "We are going to check on the babies progress." Skuld nodded and waved goodbye.

"You ready?" Ranma asked Akane; she nodded. "We'll go to the dojo afterwards. So if you need us or something, that's where you should call." Ranko smiled and waved as Ranma and Akane vanished.

Mamoru smiled at the young couple's departure. "I knew that brother of yours was a clever one. Maybe I should make him another Guardian."

Ranko snorted. "What's wrong? Ain't I good enough?"

"Getting better every day."

Sirens were blaring throughout the city, disturbing the calm and pleasant atmosphere of a post-Angel attack. With the all the recent attacks during the past year, people felt secure that it would be at least one month before a follow up from their unwanted visitors. Beads of sweat were rolling down Ranko's brow as she made her way to NERV headquarters for a quick debriefing. There were still no signs from the incoming Angel, but that could mean it is entering somewhere on the other side of the planet.

Passing security guards and flying through the corridors to the Eva changing rooms, Ranko lightly deposited Rei and Shinji whom she had been carrying in her arms. 

"Ops, Child 1, 2, and 3 checking in. What's our status? Over." Rei was zipping up her jumpsuit after peeling off her civilian clothing. Shinji was following suit, the shock of his first flight with Ranko slowly filtering out of his system. In a blur of motion, Ranko had removed her clothing and suited up, ready for interface with her Eva.

"We are tracking Angel-9 in stable orbit over Tokyo-3. It is transmitting a signal to earth at this moment." It was Ritsuko this time on coms. Her voice sounded tense, like someone was holding a gun to her head and forcing her to say the words.

"Signal? What for?" Shinji finished zipping up his jump suit and opening all plugs for interface.

"Not what, who. The signal is a message, relayed from the Angel base we think."

The pilots stared at each other. An Angel trying to make contact before its attempt to put them into oblivion, that was weird.

"Maybe it's a surrender." Ranko joked brightly, earning nervous smiles from the other two.

"Not quite. Ranko, we believe the message is for you."

"Me?!"

"The message is carrying an image of you outside the temple. Probably sent from yesterday's Angel that landed in your backyard. We haven't been able to communicate with it. Ranko, this is our first peaceful contact with the Angels, Commander Ikari wants you to attempt communications with it. The three of you are to suit up and get into your Evas. Rei and Shinji will provide whatever support they can give you if the Angel stays in orbit. Understood?"

Ranko stared at the com speaker bolted to the doorframe. Go talk with an Angel! Were they crazy? Ranko could smell a trap approaching a mile away and this one reeked. That last Angel had been messing with her head and now, suddenly, they want to communicate with her. Who knows what they've got out of her head. It could be some plan to exploit a major weakness of Ranko's or something.

"Ranko, do you copy?"

"I . . I copy. Heading for launch bay now."

Shinji ran after Ranko, catching her in the hallway, closely followed by Rei. "Ranko, you can't be serious. Rei and I can't protect you if you fly off to meet that thing. It is too dangerous. It may just be waiting up in orbit, getting ready to explode as soon as you are within range."

"I know."

"You do! Then why the hell are you agreeing to this. It's suicide."

"Not for Ranko it isn't." Rei spoke. Shinji and Ranko stopped and waited for Rei to continue. "We are obsolete, Shinji. Ranko could beat an army of these Angels without breaking a sweat. The chance of her being caught in an ambush and hurt by one is simply not possible especially when she has no signs of fatigue, illness, or injury. The Angels must surely realize this. That is why they went to Ranko last time, gathering data on her. She is the only real opposition they have to contend with, even out of her Eva."

"Thanks for the confidence, Rei." Ranko smiled and continued on her way to the launch bay, Rei in step behind her.

"I still don't like it." Shinji muttered to himself then ran down the corridor to catch up with the girls.

"The Angel has descended, landing in the valley floor of our training grounds. Intel leads us to believe this one is harmless. Its structure is similar to Angel-4 so assume it has the ability to fire an energy blasts and maintain a minimal AT field. That is if we are lucky. The last one was weak, but remember, it took you out of commission with that scanning beam. So watch yourself."

Ranko's com clicked off after Ritsuko's last transmission. The three Evas stood at the precipice of the mountain range surrounding the training ground. A gust of wind picked up a trail of leaves, curling them about the Eva's legs on their way to the city. Ranko no longer carried a rifle, the Commander having given up on forcing the weapon on her. It had been a silly idea from the beginning with Ranko's more powerful ki blasts easily accessible.

Rei and Shinji stood to either side of Ranko, rifles held high for immediate action. They were entering the training grounds now, the Angel standing before them a few miles off. Ranko stopped them outside a mile.

"I want the two of you to stand about twenty meters out and to my side. I don't want us to be caught in the same blast, but keep your sights set on it. If it twitches wrong, open fire." Rei and Shinji acknowledged her instructions and opened their stance as they walked closer to the Angel. 

Angel-9. 

It was far too calm, standing in enemy territory, knowing that it would not likely be leaving the planet alive. It did look like Angel-4. A bird-like structure covered in red armor, the core standing out on its chest like a bleak pearl in the oyster's maw.

Ranko opened outside communication once she stood a dozen meters in front of the beast. "I'm here. What do you want?"

Light particles turned to static before Ranko's eyes, a box display suspended in mid air a few meter in front of her. An image began to form within the static, a picture of Ranko surrounded in her battle aura.

"Yeah, that's me. Who are you?" 

The image shifted again to Sailor Sun, raising her sword above her head as she charged into battle.

"What do you want with me?"

Quiet. Ranko heard the wind pick up, whistling as it ran by the Eva. The image in front of her cleared and went black for a moment. A glow, soft green at first, began to strobe in the center of the image. Ranko could barely make out the outline of something terrible. A creature with green skin combined with a metallic frame. It's eyes were yellow, feral like a venomous snake, staring at Ranko with an unblinking gaze. The creature regarded her coolly as a jeweler appraising a finely cut stone.

"You." A gruff and throaty voice came across her open com link.

"Why?"

"You are worthy. You will be taken; join us and our army."

Ranko watched the Angel behind the image, it hadn't moved a muscle since she had arrived. "I don't think so. I don't team up with scum."

"Not scum. We are survivors. With your genetic material we will survive better."

"Survivors? What are you talking about?"

"You know my soldiers; Angels as you call them. They are a race of powerful warriors. I use them to search the galaxy for other powerful warriors like you. Soon is the time of Ragnarok, a battle spanning all planes of existence. We will rise from its ashes victorious. You are necessary to our survival."

Coms went silent as ops switched on private channels. Commander Ikari came across the line. "We've heard enough. Take care of this nutcase and return to base. I don't know what this is about, but if they need you in order to survive, let's not give them anymore opportunity to get you."

"That is too bad." 

Ranko jumped in surprise as the creature's voice cut in on the private com link.

"This Angel is the last of its second series generation. The most powerful of its type. I was planning on sparing the rest of your planet now that I have the greatest of your species. However, I never said I needed her alive."

Ranko rolled her body over into a back bend spring to her feet and landing a dozen meters behind Rei and Shinji. Angel-9 removed its claw from the ground Ranko had been a second earlier. The other two Evas opened fire as they tracked the Angel's movements across the valley floor. It may have appeared similar to Angel-4, but its speed and maneuverability was phenomenal.

"Mouko Takabisha!" Ranko fired the blast from over head to add another dimension the Angel would have to watch. If she missed, hopefully Rei or Shinji would get a clean shot to knock out the Angel's AT field. The blast was right on target. The Angel was not affected by the ki, however. Holding up what passed for hands, the Angel absorbed the incoming energy.

"Holy shit!" Shinji hit the dirt as an energy beam cut through the air above him, sweeping an arc across the valley. The beam hit Rei across the arm. She screamed in pain as the Eva groped at the bloody stump that had been left behind by the blast. 

Shinji roared in outrage and continued to fire at the Angel, rolling along the ground to avoid another energy beam directed at him. Bullets struck the Angel, or seemed to, but inflicted no wound as they passed straight through. Ranko dropped to the ground before the Angel and attempted to take the fight to a hand-to-hand deal. Maybe she could give Shinji and Rei enough time to recover their positions.

Punches and kicks shot out in the dozens, aimed for all the vulnerable areas on the Angel. Each passed through the creature without any form of resistance. Ranko hadn't been expecting this and ended up falling off balance and rolling across the ground.

"We've got problems. This one has no tangible form. My attacks are passing right through him!" She may not be able to hit the Angel, but it could leave a definite impression on her. The left arm slashed across Eva 002's back; Ranko didn't give it the satisfaction of hearing her scream. 

Shots rang out once again. Shinji had taken Rei's rifle after moving her further out of range. The rounds had the same affect as before. Ranko pulled back, dodging more swipes by the Angel's sharp claws. Its hands racked across the earth each time it missed her. Placing her back foot against the mountain behind her, Ranko launched herself at the Angel as it swung in to meet her. This time she could feel resistance as she blocked the hit with her right and punched into the core with the same hand.

As expected a yellow gridwork of light deflected the blow, the AT field. Ranko was too close and was thrown a quarter mile across the valley floor by the field energy.

"It is vulnerable for a moment during its attack. I'll take it on at close range. Shinji try to get some shots off when it attacks me." Ranko flared her aura about the Eva and flew back into the fight. She flipped into a double front kick. The Angel allowed her to pass straight through. Shinji would now be at its back and out of immediate danger.

Shinji took a few shots as the Angel's came back into view for him. The sound of a solid hit was followed by strained curses over his com.

"Fuckin' hell, Shinji. Those damn bullets will pass through him unless he is attacking. You got me in the arm!" Ranko put her left arm forward until the pain subsided as ops cut nerve connections to her right arm.

The Angel must have realized Ranko's tactic as the bullet hit her. It swung around to face Shinji, charging at top speed, mouth open to use another energy blast. The Angel stopped abruptly a few feet in front of Eva 001, a thick gurgling sound emanating from its open jaws.

Rei pushed her right arm harder, piercing the Angel deeply with her energy blade. The blade passed straight into the core and protruded the monster's back. Rei attempted to inflict more pain as she stood up, pulling the energy blade through the Angel's sternum and cutting her way out of his shoulder.

"Alright Rei!" Ranko cheered in the background.

A black and rubbery looking piece of carcass flopped to the ground, still kicking. It didn't look like it belonged to the Angel they were fighting. From what they could see, this Angel was entirely red and thick with muscle. The flesh that lay on the ground was black and thin, like an eel or manta.

The hologram failed, shattering to pieces around Rei's energy blade. A long, thin, black serpent swam in the air where Angel-9 had stood. Crimson, emanating from an aura that burned brightly about the true Angel-9, reached out for a few meters to hold the serpent suspended in the air. The eel's mouth opened again, aiming straight for Rei.

"No you don't." Ranko grabbed the Angel by its tail and swung the creature a few times in complete revolutions, releasing once she had accumulated enough momentum. She watched the Angel make a straight line for the side of a mountain. Dirt and dust blasted into the air from the impact, causing parts of the mountain to collapse on top of the source of the disturbance. Nothing moved.

"You two alright?" Ranko asked.

Shinji slapped in another cartridge of bullets as he made a quick check of his rifle. "Fine. Did you kill it?"

"Not yet."

"Then stop wasting time and finish the job."

Ranko was surprised by Shinji's forcefulness. It happened every time someone hurt Rei physically or emotionally. The latter being the most prevalent. Ranko forgot about it for now and charged her hands with two small ki blasts and moved in closer to the Angel's crash site. Still no movement; she released the blasts, knocking up another cloud of dirt that obscured her vision.

The Angel might've been hidden from sight, but Ranko could still feel its energy pattern behind the wall of dirt. A sudden sure in power alarmed her to action. "Everyone scatter!"

A red beam shot out from the dust cloud, slicing another arc in the air, only hitting the mountains in the background.

Those red blasts reminded Ranko of Akane's old battle aura, she wondered, "HIRYU SHOUTEN HA!"

The blast struck just outside the Angel's aura, but that wasn't important. The cooling ki circled about the hot, red ki exciting the wind around the Angel. It lifted into the air screeching some alien tongue. A tornado over forty feet in diameter and pulling speed over one hundred miles an hour spun the Angel on its side then dropped it from ten miles up.

Ranko wasn't going to let a chance like this be passed up. Standing directly beneath the Angel's shadow, Ranko warmed up for what she hoped would be the big finish.

"MOUKO!"

The Angel screeched once again and turned over onto its belly to get a better look of Ranko. Spines extended from the sides of its body, closing over its exposed belly like armor.

"TAKA!"

Rei and Shinji were firing the last of their rifle rounds at the Angel, trying to break open the spines, shattering a few, but most of the shots missing by a large margin. Rei finished first and collapsed grabbing at her arm to alleviate the phantom pain just a little. Shinji emptied his last cartridge soon after and threw his body over Rei's to protect her from whatever was coming.

"BISHA!!"

A blast, like a tidal wave with all the sea behind it rushed forth from Ranko's outstretched hands. Excess energy licked around her body as a ball, thirty feet in diameter, large enough to block out the sun and hide the Angel completely from view. Ranko's body strained from the pressure of her power output, veins straining to keep her body from collapsing. The ground around her erupting to leave Ranko standing in a small crater. This was to be the scene of Angel-9's demise.

Sometimes things didn't happen the way you planned. Angel-9 slipped past the energy blast. The spines had offered a perfect cutting edge, much like Ranko had done with Ranma. Holes a meter wide had opened up in its body where Rei and Shinji had taken out some of the spines. Despite the few real wounds, the Angel collapsed onto the ground, the sound of breaking bone and bludgeoning flesh reaching Ranko's ears.

"You can get off of me now Shinji." Rei suggested as she attempted to sit up with only one good arm. Shinji rolled off of her and jumped to his feet so he could stand next to Ranko. She was bent over, holding herself up by her arms on her knees. 

"Did you breech the core?"

Ranko shook her head. The Angel was playing possum; she could feel it. She recalled Angel-6; when she had torn the head from its shoulders, the Angel was still capable of tearing up the city.

"What do we do? We're out of ammo and you look exhausted."

Ranko stood up. No fucking way she was going to show weakness before her enemy. Her hands clenched at her sides as she grew angrier at the pile of rubble covering the Angel. 

The Angel began to move.

"MOUKO KAIMON HA!" She had judged the time needed to run across the small distance. Her foot, glowing with ki, slammed into the Angel's side and stopped. Ranko screamed in pain as she felt the power of two spines clamp down on the Eva right leg, snapping it sideways rather easily.

The Angel reared up on its tail to bring down, with all its force, the sharp claws set under the creature's jaws. 

Pain, sharp and biting, so cold Ranko swore icicles were growing out of the wounds. Her hands reached up reflexively to find the head of the Angel locked down on her shoulder. It bit harder as she attempted to dislodge the claws. No bones had been broken or any major arteries struck, but the tearing of muscle was horrible. In her frantic attempts to end the pain, Ranko had begun to strike the Angel with her other hand as hard as she could. When the pain became more terrible Ranko stopped hitting the black serpent and tried to think.

Ranko's right hand came up in a flat, knife-like shape. The left pushed under the Angel to lift it as much as she could. After small gap showed between herself and the Angel, she swarmed her right hand with ki and extended it into an energy blade. She didn't have the energy for a true ki blade that would have cut cleaner, but the result was the same. Ranko's hand sliced through the claws, severing the rest of the Angel from her body. With her legs she pushed the beast off and rolled onto her stomach to stand up easier.

The Angel wasn't about to give Eva 002 enough time to recuperate from the wounds it had inflicted. Normally, the fight would've been over for the Angel, but the information it had received from its brother came in as invaluable. A red beam shot out of its mouth to cut out the legs from beneath Ranko. The fight with Ranko became the deciding factor for whether the Angel lived or died, the others didn't matter. They were simply pathetic compared to her.

Ranko had decided to take the fight a little more seriously and jumped through her power levels quickly. She was thus able jump over the incoming blast from the Angel. Rei and Shinji weren't as lucky. There was no way Ranko could save them, not when something this dangerous was on the planet. The best way to protect everyone else was to move the fight. She dropped to her haunches at the Angel's side, waiting for the tail to swing back around towards her. Her movements were quick and precise, there was no escaping her grip on the dorsal spines. A thick slippery fluid made the grip precarious, she found a stronger hold where the spine attached to the main body as she launched herself into the air.

The Angel resisted, whipping its head around to bite her feet or get a clean shot. Ranko rushed across the sky, past the mountain range to the next valley. She was almost there when the tail laxed, the spine returning to its sheath within the Angel's body. Free of her grasp the serpent fell to the earth below, firing energy shots at her position, but missing by small margins.

'Shit! Couldn't you have waited a little longer, you little bastard!' Ranko dropped her body into a diving position holding a ki shield up to block the Angel's blasts. They were dropping over a city. Ranko didn't want to think about what would happen if she didn't put the Angel did fast enough. 

They were falling fast, but Ranko could move even faster without risk. She pushed a little harder and soon found her self passing the Angel, ready to lay on another round of heavy ki blasts to finish the monster off. The ki shield in her hands began to spin like a top in her hands, filling out with more energy. The Angel was only a couple hundred feet over the city and wouldn't be getting any closer if Ranko had anything to say about it. The energy disk spun out of her being directed at the monster's center where she believed the core to be.

Angel-9 saw the incoming energy disk for a brief second as it turned over to face the ground. It came within inches of taking out the black core in its center; the save came as it wrapped the long, thin body up like a California roll. 

Ranko didn't have time to swear as the Angel slapped her across the face with the end of its tail as it unraveled. The weight of the giant tail was enough to send Eva 002 hurtling to the ground at high speeds. Ranko attempted to alter her course and miss a skyscraper that would skewer her if she hit it. Tenant buildings and a small business office, ten stories high, crumbled to the ground as the Eva smashed through its infrastructure on her way to meet the ground. 

The Angel curled about the skyscraper's antenna to slow its descent, coming to a stop on top of the same building. After analyzing data it knew that Ranko had a forty- percent chance of surviving the fall; the odds were too high. Its eel face began to bulge as a build up of red energy was concentrated there.

Ranko shoved the larger pieces of concrete and steel off of her Eva. She was bruised and could feel at least one broken rib adding on to her list of injuries. The leg still hurt like hell, but she had enough time to mend it for the most part during her brief flight across country. Which is to say she could stand on it a little. If she hadn't wasted the energy on healing Eva 002 she might've had enough energy to save herself from the fall. Ranko stood up amongst the wreckage, pieces of furniture and dust falling to the ground. She made a quick scan of the area and almost threw up when she realized not all of the debris hanging off of her was building material. It was red and flowing down her shoulder, but it wasn't hers. On the ground at her feet, more puddles of red and the bodies they belonged to. 

Ranko's aura flared brightly again as she roared, the energy picking up debris and flinging it about in a mini twister. She felt the power build up on the skyscraper and headed for it as quickly as she could.

The energy was getting too large for Angel-9 to hold onto any longer. This would deplete all but ten percent of its energy. If it didn't kill Ranko Angel-9 would require a new supply of power from one of her blasts; the difficult part was capturing the energy. If his species could feel emotions other than anger and love for conquest, this Angel would have been worried.

Ranko was flying up alongside the skyscraper, skimming its surface on her way to the top, when she saw a great red energy ball on a collision course with the city. Setting the result of such an impact out of her mind, she collided with Angel-9, dropping a Mouko Takabisha into its lap and sending it in an arc through the sky. The blast carried the Angel straight up into the sky and Ranko was getting ready to follow up with another shot.

The red energy ball struck the earth with energy equivalent to an H-bomb. Ranko was knocked higher into the sky, quickly reaching the upper atmosphere. She wondered if the Eva could survive in space, but testing the idea didn't appeal much to her. She could see the Angel already descending back to the earth and followed. The Eva's response was sluggish, a result of low oxygen intake she believed. 

Images began to appear in Ranko's head. The fight with the Angel and the condition she left Rei and Shinji. Were they okay? Ranko looked back at the far away city, but could only find a large crater rimmed with trees soaked in the blood spray. The blast hadn't been a true H-bomb or things would have been burnt for miles; this was the result of a direct energy attack like ki. 'I wonder if anyone survived?'

Another vision, Ranko turning into Sailor Sun, golden staff in hand and the husk of a Angel-8 behind her. Eva 002 was getting rather nosy, she thought. Turning into Sailor Sun would make things too easy. Ranko could beat this Angel any day of the week, and today was the day. No divine powers to help her, just good old-fashioned martial arts, Ranko was going to kill the beast with her own hands. Nothing could stop her.

Ranko caught up with the falling Angel as she passed over Tokyo-3, moving at over two hundred miles an hour. Cities flew by beneath her, but all she saw was an enemy that had been breathing for far too long. Energy blades extended from both hands as she moved in closer until she could see the fear in the Angel's eyes. She was going to make this painful and keep it going for as long as possible. 

Voices came over coms; Ranko only distantly became aware of them. Shinji and Rei had been hit with the Angel's blast across the chest. Rescue teams were en route, but Magi sensors were having trouble picking up heartbeats. Misato ordered shock treatment to get them going again and a shot of adrenaline. Reports came in about the lost city. She tuned this part out; the results of that blast had been made very clear to Ranko. 

The Angel bounced off concrete and skidded to a halt a half mile later. Twin energy blades suddenly beared down on it, making quick work of the remaining spines and beginning a thorough job of gutting the creature. Angel-9 was not out of tricks, however, it projected a second Angel attacking the Eva from the right. More real and dangerous than Ranko would have believed.

Ranko saw the false Angel appear at her side and continued to cut away at the Angel pinned to the ground by her legs. She never saw the kick to her head that toppled her to the ground, smashing two houses. Nor did she see the false Angel rear up on its tail and fire a blast of energy at her.

Ranko rolled around the ground a bit. The blast had been weak, barely able to damage her at all. She was no less irritated that the Angel had blind-sided her. Without bothering the hologram, she drove straight into Angel-9, puncturing the core with one energy blade.

The false Angel disappeared; its counterpart completely unprotected and empty of energy. Ranko was also running out of energy. Her energy blades faded away to nothing and she was left with only enough strength for a few more shots, she would make this last one count.

"MOUKO TAKABISHA!"

Ranko poured the last of her energy into the ki blast pulsating between her Eva's hands and let it fly into the crippled Angel. The blast traveled the distance to its target in milliseconds and sliced through the exposed core with raw energy comparable to the sun. 

Angel-9 screamed in agony as it tumbled to the ground, crushing homes beneath its mass. Ranko couldn't help anyone that could be trapped down there. All she could do was pray they forgave her. 

It had been a destructive fight that covered hundreds of miles and cost the lives of untold thousands and almost took the lives of two Eva pilots. 

Ranko stared down at the Angel that had caused them so much trouble. It had a slick and serpent-like exterior, which had made it very hard to hit. She could see hundreds of cuts and other wounds that it had taken to slow the monster down enough for Ranko to finally kill it with her ki blasts.

It skidded to halt on the ground just before a green and white high school. The wreckage was terrible. From her vantagepoint, Ranko could see houses and cars crushed in the aftermath. Mixed in between the rubble, she could see blood. 

Not a lot of blood. 

Not as much as she had seen in the other city, but enough for Ranko to feel the grief wearing her down.

Her Eva slumped down onto its knees, the internal battery clock reaching zero. Ranko could see what used to be one of the city blocks beneath her. It looked like a giant hand had scratched the surface, dragging pieces of people's lives beneath its fingernails. 

There was something down there that caught her attention.

Looks like a small reflective surface, Ranko thought, maybe a mirror or a pond. 

Pond.

Why did that frighten her all of a sudden?

Koi pond.

No, it couldn't be.

Check the house.

Ranko scanned the ground by the pond. It used to be a two-story house, she guessed, though there is a lot of extra wood than in an ordinary house for this area. What else could have been there?

Dojo.

Yes, that could've been it, a dojo. Now that she looked closely, Ranko could see small weapons; staffs, spears, and swords mostly.

Definitely a dojo. 

Entangled in the debris, Ranko saw a small piece of cloth flapping in the wind. It was hard to make out. 

As if to give her a better look, the wind ripped it from its confines and carried it up to the Eva. Ranko could see it clearly now, a yellow bandanna with little black triangles.

Why is that so familiar?

Ryouga.

No.

A koi pond.

No.

A dojo.

No.

A yellow bandanna.

NO!!!!

Yes.

"Oh god, please!" Ranko struggled out of her Eva entry plug. The door wouldn't open unless someone was on the outside to make it open. Her hands pulsed with energy for a moment and the door was blasted off its hinges. She pulled the last of the nerve cords from her suit and jumped to the ground.

Ranko dropped to her knees, skinning her palms. She looked around the area and ran in the direction of where a house once stood. Pieces of wood and piping were flung aside in Ranko's desperation to prove herself wrong.

'This is the wrong house. It was abandoned during the fight. They saw the Angel and ran as far as they could. There is no one here. No one is in this house. No one is dead.'

Ranko continued to claw through the debris. Her fingers bleeding from the sharp edges she was grabbing. As Ranko's mind tried to comfort her, her hands kept moving on there own. She worked at the heavier pieces, leveraging the studs to help remove a good portion of the debris. Working so frantically, Ranko didn't even realize her hands had become covered in blood. It was not her own, she realized, and stopped suddenly to gaze at the fluid.

She found something warm and soft. It wasn't made of wood or metal. A large section of roofing was covering the upper half of what she guessed was human. Ranko lifted the piece slowly, afraid of what she was about to see.

Nabiki.

She was dressed in one of her kimonos that she liked to wear on strange occasions. Ranko could see her head was lying at a right angle to the rest of her body. Blood was trickling down her forehead where the roof had hit her. It had been quick, but Nabiki's face was locked in terror. She must have been trying to hide from the battle that was happening right outside her home.

Ranko held the tears back as best she could. She stood up and looked around the wreckage, noticing the real horror for the first time. A little further away, she could see Soun lying on his stomach over a cement block, an iron rod sticking out of his back. Pieces of his abdomen were hanging from the top of the twisted metal. He seemed more shocked than anything, like he wasn't expecting to be impaled for at least another week.

In a section of the house Ranko remembered to be the living room, she found Ryouga huddling over Ukyo, trying his best to protect her in their final moments. His back was flattened partially where the Angel made its crash landing. Ukyo was still beneath him. Her face stared lifelessly in Ranko's direction, half of the skull crushed in and lying in a pool of their shared blood.

It took Ranko some time to finish checking the house. She found them in the dojo, half buried under scorched pine boards. Probably practicing their ki exercises like she had instructed them. Chinese clothing, much like her own, was burnt and tattered, barely covering a strong back. Beneath it, she could see the remains of a yellow gi. It was Akane's favorite. She wore it everyday she practiced with Ranko and Ranma.

Ranko couldn't see their faces. She didn't want to. She had seen everyone else. All caught in looks of terror and pain. She didn't want to remember them that way.

"Akane. . ."

Ranko couldn't move. She had no control over her limbs. In a moment, she collapsed onto the ground, barely holding herself up by her arms.

"Akane?"

She had been her first friend. No one else had been her friend until Akane. When she smiled, Ranko could feel the warmth. A soothing peace that wrapped around Ranko and comforted her in love she had received from no one else.

"Akane!"

Ranko had promised to protect them. She said she couldn't trust anyone else to do it. What a crock! She couldn't save the life of her family. Ranko was so alone in the world. It looks like fate meant her to stay that way.

"Akane! Wake up!"

That wasn't her voice. 

Ranko blinked a couple times and looked around what used to be the Tendo Dojo. 

Something was moving.

She wanted to cry in joy, but her grief had sapped away all of her strength for doing such things.

"Oh god, Akane! Wake up!!"

"Ranma!" Ranko pushed herself to stand and run to the pigtailed boy, stumbling a bit through the wreckage.

"Ranko? Ranko! Please! You've got to help her! She's not moving! Oh, please Ranko! Help Akane!"

Ranko skidded to her knees by Akane's body. Ranma was holding her head in his arms, cradling her upper body, and squeezing her tightly, afraid of the way she was lying limply in his hands. There were scratches on the girl's body, along her arms and torso, a couple over her face, but other than that she seemed to be uninjured. Ranko leaned in close to Akane and waited to feel her warm breath on her cheek. 

It never came.

Ranko pressed two fingers against the girl's neck. 

Nothing.

Ranko stretched out with all of the ki she could gather. There was something. Ranko could feel into Akane and she found life. It was small and weak, but it was there. It was . . .

It wasn't Akane's.

Ranko guided her hands lower, over the girl's stomach, which she now noticed was straining a yellow dress Ranko had mistaken for a gi. She felt the traces of Akane's ki. It had been channeled from her being and into that of her unborn child, in an attempt to shield the child from danger.

It wasn't going to survive for long without Akane to supply it with oxygen and nutrients.

"We have to save the child, Ranma." Ranko could no longer think of Akane, the rational part of her mind pushing her friend's death aside for the moment.

"But Akane . . " Ranma continued to hold his wife, pleading with his eyes for Ranko to save her.

She couldn't stand to look at Ranma, it hurt too much. She had to do what she could to preserve life, it was a precept of a martial artist. "Akane's dead! Now help me save her child!" Grabbing Ranma by the collar, Ranko moved him out of the way so she could rest Akane gently on the ground.

Ranko had never done this before. She'd only seen it done in the Amazon village when the mother was unable to bear the child alone. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment, then ripped the dress from Akane's body.

She reached up into a subspace pocket and pulled out a knife and a jacket she had kept there for cold nights. Ranko handed Ranma the jacket and pushed him out of the way to get into a good position over Akane's body.

"What are you going to do?"

Ranko poised the knife along Akane's abdomen. "I'm sorry, Akane."

The knife sliced cleanly into her friend's stomach, starting above her vagina and sliding up her body. Ranko cut only a little ways into the womb, careful not to hit the child. She was glad her friend couldn't feel the pain and hoped she could save the child in time. Stretching her ki out a little, Ranko felt the child dying. She was running out of time.

Finishing the last cut, she reached in and pulled out the infant, covered with amniotic fluids and blood. Taking it by the legs, she started spanking it firmly until some fluid sputtered out of the child's mouth. It was followed soon by a loud cry. 

Without skipping a beat, Ranko took care of the umbilical cord and carried the child reverently over to the koi pond. It wasn't the cleanest but it would do. Laying the baby on the grass, she ripped off one of her shirtsleeves and soaked it in the water. Making soothing sounds, Ranko began to wash away the fluids covering the baby. Its eyes were closed and the hands clenched, shaking a bit from the cold. Her nephew, Ranko realized as she passed the wet cloth over the infant's face. 'This is my precious little nephew.' Ranko continued to wipe away the rest of the blood. 'He's so beautiful, just like his mother.' 

With a clean baby in her hands, she took the jacket back from Ranma and wrapped it around the child. Using a small amount of ki, Ranko warmed the child up faster, at the same time she passed along the calming emotions she used to create the glow in her palms. The infant soon became silent and began to sleep, comfortable and warm.

Ranko smiled kindly at the child, rocking it in her arms. Even with the horrors surrounding her, Ranko felt happy, holding the fragile and innocent being in her arms.

Ranma had stood silent as Ranko performed the operation on Akane. Then followed her, a look of wonderment in his eyes, as she cleaned the child and took care of it. He wasn't sure what he was feeling. Akane had died in his arms, yet all of his attention was focused on the infant Ranko was tending to.

Ranko looked at Ranma and handed the child over to him. He accepted the bundle, cradling it in his arms the same way he had seen Ranko a moment ago. This was his son, a precious and wonderful gift to the world, Akane's last gift to her husband. Fresh tears started to hit the jacket as he began to sing a lullaby Ranko somehow knew. The song continued in her head as she walked over to Akane's body.

Sleep, little pigeon,

And fold your wings,

Little blue pigeon

With velvet eyes;

Sleep to the singing

Of father-bird swinging

Swinging the nest

Where her little one lies.

A small quivering smile forced its way onto Ranko's lips as she knelt by her friend. "You died today, Akane-chan, but don't worry." Ranko reached out and smoothed out the features on the girl's face. "A piece of you lives on."

Away out yonder

I see a star,

Silvery star

With a tinkling song;

To the soft dew falling

I hear it calling

Calling and tinkling

The night along.

Ranko's face became stained with warm tears as she said a silent prayer for her friend. Akane's face was calm and peaceful, there was even a soft knowing smile on her lips as she lay there. Ranko cried out silently for hope, something, a sign that everything would be alright in the end.

What she heard was the soft, sweet melody of a father's lullaby for his child.

In through the window

A moonbeam comes,

Little gold moonbeam

With misty wings;

All silently creeping,

It asks; "Is he sleeping

Sleeping and dreaming

While father sings?"...

But sleep, little pigeon,

And fold your wings,

Little blue pigeon

With mournful eyes;

Am I not singing? --

See, I am swinging --

Swinging the nest

Where my darling lies.

End Chapter Seven

Author notes:

So? How did you like it? If you have an comments for me, send it to jehtek@hotmail.com. Most of you are probably wondering where the hell did any of this stuff come from. All I can say is one day I sat down and said to myself 'Michael', that's me, 'Michael, I would like to write a Ranma ½ story without actually thinking anything through before hand'. The imaginary people in my head applauded and there was much rejoicing. 

I actually planned on continuing with my story, but one of my prereaders(thanks mom) thought chapter seven was the best place to stop. Sort of a cliffhanger for the Rocky and Bullwinkly Show, I think. What will Ranma do without Akane? Can Ranko save the rest of humanity on her own? What of the next generation of Angels? How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood???

If you read this entire story and enjoyed and find yourself on the edge of your seat for answers to these questions, then you should be happy to know that I started working on the second installment to Ranma, More Than Half during February of 2000. I'm not sure if that means it will be done soon, but it is at least being started.


End file.
